^ v\ I to i. t, 


c.« 


Calendar No. 7. 


60th Congress. 

1st Session. 


Session. 


SENATE. 


j Rep 
( No, 


Report 
No. 8. 


BUILDINGS FOR DEPARTMENTS OF STATE, JUSTICE, AND 
COMMERCE AND LABOR. 


December 21, 1907.—Ordered to be printed. 


Mr. Scott, from the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, sub¬ 
mitted the following 


REPORT. 


[To accompany S. 152.] 


The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, to whom was 
referred the bill (S. 152) to provide a site and buildings for the Depart¬ 
ments of State, Justice, and Commerce and Labor, having considered 
the same, report back the bill without amendment with the recom¬ 
mendation that the bill do pass. 

Your committee herewith appends the following report upon this 
bill: 

In the location of a site your committee have arrived at the conclu¬ 
sion that buildings in the District of Columbia for the Departments of 
the Government should occupy a full square, be set well back from 
the surrounding streets, classical in design, preferably three, and at 
most not exceeding four, stories in height, including the basement. 

We believe it is wise to consolidate in one building two or more 
Departments rather than to erect a building for each Department, for 
the reason that as time goes on these Departments with the ever-grow¬ 
ing demands will necessarily increase in size, and when this increase 
reaches a point making it necessary to provide more space it will be 
far easier and more economical to move one Department to a new 
building and to allow the remaining Department or Departments to 
expand than to alter and add to the smaller buildings. The effect of 
the city of Washington as a whole will be much more imposing if it is 
filled eventually with structures of great importance in size and scale 
than with a mass of smaller buildings. 

There is pressing need, in our opinion, for the erection of one or 
two buildings to house the Departments of Justice, Commerce and 
Labor, and State. The first two mentioned are now occupying twelve 
rented buildings in different sections of Washington, and the Depart¬ 
ment of State is greatly overcrowded in its present quarters, having now 
actually less available space than was intended when the south wing of 
the State, War, and Navy building, which it occupies in part, was com- 










2 


BUILDINGS FOB THE DEPARTMENTS OF 


THE GOVERNMENT. : 

c*>V ' 


2 - 


pleted in 1875. The removal of the State Department will also relieve 
the congestion in the War and Navy Departments by allowing them 
to expand to the extent of the space vacated. The Secretar}" of State 
and the Attorney-General have both urged upon the committee as a 
consideration of the greatest importance that their Departments 
should be located as near as practicable to the Executive Offices. 

Your committee therefore recommend as a proper and adequate site 
for the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce and Labor the 
purchase of squares numbered 226, 227, 228, 229, and 230, bounded by 
Pennsylvania avenue, Fourteenth street, B street, and Fifteenth 
street NW., and the assignment to the purposes of this site of the 
portions of C street, Ohio avenue, D street, and E street lying between 
the squares mentioned. 

The following papers are presented herewith: 

Appendix A .—Printed statement of the Secretary of State and the Attorney-General. 

Appendix B .—Two letters of the Department of State, dated March 31 and April 
6, 1906, giving estimates of space required by that Department. 

Appendix C .—Letters addressed in 1902 to Senator Fairbanks, chairman of the 
Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, by the Acting Secretary of State and 
the Attorney-General. 

Appendix D .—Letter of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, dated March 18, 
1906, addressed to Senator Scott, chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings 
and Grounds, regarding a new building for the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

Appendix E .—Statement of buildings rented within the District of Columbia for 
the use of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1906. 

Appendix F .—Table showing the cost of some of the principal Government build¬ 
ings, with their sites, outside of Washington. Table showing the cost of the principal 
Government buildings, with their sites, in the city of Washington Table showing 
the limit of cost fixed by Congress for Government buildings in Washington now 
under construction, with the cost of their sites. 


JAN 15 IS. 

D. OF D< 


\ 


BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 3 


Appendix A. 

BUILDING FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. 

Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, 

United States Senate, 

Washington, D. 0 ., March 20, 1906 . 

SUBCOMMITTEE on building for the department of justice. 

The subcommittee met at 4 o’clock p. m. 

Present: Senators Wetmore (chairman) and Dryden. 

Senator Wetmore. The clerk will read some letters in reference to 
the subject under consideration. 

The following’ letters were read: 

United States Senate, 

Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, 

tT ~ „ March 6, 1906. 

Hon. George P. Wetmore, 

United States Senate. 

My Dear Senator : I herewith hand you the papers in connection with the 
building for the Department of Justice. I have appointed you chairman of a 
subcommittee, with Senators Dryden and Clay, to look into the location of a 
site, and to report at the very first meeting. We have a bill covering the sug¬ 
gestions contained in the letter 1 inclose, and with a recommendation to carry 
this appropriation either in a separate hill or as an amendment to the appro¬ 
priation bill. 

I will, of course, be glad at any time to confer with the subcommittee. Hop¬ 
ing that you will take this up at once and give it your best thought. 

Yours, very truly, 

N. B. Scott. 


Office of the Attorney-General, 

Washington, D. C., March 6, 1906. 

My Dear Senator : I have been acquiring information with reference to the 
construction of a building for the Department of Justice, which may be of use 
to your committee. One of the architectural draftsmen attached to the office 
of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury has made a careful investigation 
of the amount of floor space which would be required to meet present needs. 
He concludes that a building occupying approximately 30,000 square feet of 
ground area and four stories in height would be necessary to meet present con¬ 
ditions. I think he has made a liberal estimate for the natural and inevitable 
growth of the Department. It is, however, to be noted that he has taken into 
account the requirements of the Spanish Treaty Claims Commission, the Indian 
Depredations Bureau, and the Codifying Commission. The floor space esti¬ 
mated for these three purposes is, respectively, 5,800 square feet, 3,200 square 
feet, and 2,200 square feet. The total floor space estimated for is 66,850 square 
feet. The three divisions of the Department just mentioned are temporary. 

The Codifying Commission will, I hope, cease to exist within a year and the 
Indian Depredations Bureau within two years, but the Spanish Treaty Claims 
Commission will be of indefinite duration. It is likely, however, that there 
will always be a succession of temporary undertakings of this kind, so that 
practically, even for present conditions, we must count upon the use of a good 
deal of space. As the tendency of this Department is to expand, it seems to me 
that any bill should contain some provisions for future growth. The Architect 
of the Treasury estimates that a buiding suitable for present needs would cost 
approximately $1,350,000. 

The next question to be considered is the location of the building. The Gov¬ 
ernment now owns the vacant lot upon which the old Department of Justice 
once stood, at the corner of Pennsylvania avenue and Madison place. This is 



4 BUILDINGS FOB, TIIE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 


the lot between the Lafayette Theater and Pennsylvania avenue. That lot 
contains 23,101.054 square feet. Obviously this lot is not large enough for the 
purpose, even if every foot of it were occupied by a building. It seems to me 
that there should be about all our public buildings of important character some 
land, at least sufficient for adequate light and air. 

If the size of this lot were increased by taking the small building to the 
eastward, now occupied by the Arlington Fire Insurance Company, and the lot 
to the northward, occupied by the Lafayette Theater, it probably would be 
adequate for our purpose, although there would be little land left unoccupied by 
the building. The other places suggested are locations on Lafayette square— 
which, 1 think, would be preferred by the commission of architects who have 
assigned a plan for the development of the capital—the south side of Pennsyl¬ 
vania avenue, and the Mall, along which the building for the Agriculture De¬ 
partment is now being constructed. If the last-mentioned location should be 
selected, there would be ample land without the cost to the Government. 

The size of the building proposed does not include accommodations for the 
Court of Claims, which is now in the old Corcoran Art Gallery, owned by the 
Government. 

It would be impossible to prepare a bill until it is determined upon which 
one of these locations the building should be constructed. If the committee 
would indicate to me informally what general course seemed to it desirable, I 
should be very glad to prepare a bill and submit it to you for your consideration. 

I beg to say, in conclusion, that the urgent need of some accommodations for 
this Department can not be overstated. No other Department of the Govern¬ 
ment is so badly housed as this Department, and we are doing our work under 
the greatest difficulties. 

Sincerely, yours, William H. Moody. 

Hon. N. B. Scott, 

Chairman Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, 

United States Senate. 


[Memorandum of office accommodations required.] 

Department of Justice, 

February, 1906. 

Attorney-General. —One private office room (large), 1 private anteroom, 1 
room for private secretary, 1 private room for private secretary, 1 large recep¬ 
tion room, 1 messengers’ room for packing, etc., 1 isolated private room (den) 
for Attorney-General. Estimated floor space, 3,700 square feet. 

Solicitor-General (Mr. Hoyt). —One private office, 1 private secretary’s office, 
1 waiting or reception room, 2 rooms for attorneys, 1 room for stenographers. 
Estimated floor space, 2,600 square feet. 

Assistant to Attorney-General (Mr. Purdy). —One private office (to include 
library), 3 office rooms. Estimated floor space, 1,800 square feet 

Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. Van Orsdel). —Three rooms for Assistant 
Attorney-General, 15 rooms for attorneys and clerks, 2 rooms for docket clerks, 
1 room for files of court cases (large room), 1 room for files of correspondence, 
press copy, etc., 1 room for messenger. Estimated floor space, 7,800 square feet. 

Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. Russell). —One private office, 3 office rooms. 
Estimated floor space, 1,500 square feet. 

Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. McReynolds). —One private office, 8 office 
rooms. Estimated floor space, 1,500 square feet. 

Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. Robb). —One private room, 3 office rooms. 
Estimated floor space, 1,500 square feet. 

Assistant Attorney-General (Judge Thompson). —Occupies 9 ordinary-sized 
rooms in Bond Building. Present space satisfactory. Estimated floor* space 
3,200 square feet. 

Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. Fuller). —One private room, 1 stenographer’s 
room, 5 rooms for attorneys, 1 room for records and files and custodian in charge, 
1 large room for stenographers (4), 2 rooms for financial clerk and supplies, 1 
room for library. Estimated floor space, 4,200 square feet. 

Special Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. Burch). —Two rooms, about 17 by 20 
each. Estimated floor space, 700 square feet 



BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 5 


General agent (General Clay).— One private room, about 17 by 35 (including 
library space) ; 1 clerks’ room, ordinary, 3 or 4 people; 1 examiner’s room, about 
4 people and filing space. Estimated floor space, 1,500 square feet. 

Chief clerk. —One chief clerk’s private room, 2 rooms for clerks, 1 large room 
for stationery and supplies (now use two ordinary rooms), 1 room for letter- 
press copying, 1 mail room (ordinary size), 1 telegraph room (ordinary size), 
1 requisition clerk (ordinary size), 1 files room (private), 1 room for 6 clerks, 
1 telephone operators’ room. Estimated floor space, 4,500 square feet. 

Filing space (now in basement), 15£ by 52 feet; 1 storage room, carpets and 
furniture, say, 16 by 25 feet; carpenter’s shop, cabinet shop. Estimated floor 
space, 2,500 square feet. 

Appointment clerk. —One private room, ordinary size; 1 clerks’ room, ordinary 
size; 1 files room (now using space equal to 2 rooms about 18 by 20 feet each). 
Estimated floor space, 1,500 square feet. 

Pardon attorney. —One private room, ordinary size; 1 clerks’ room, ordinary 
size; 1 files room, requirements same as appointment clerk. Estimated floor 
space, 1,500 square feet. 

Disbursing clerk. —One private room, 2 large office rooms, vault space (all for 
8 people). Estimated floor space, 1,500 square feet. 

Examiner of titles (Mr. Bentley). —One large room, or 2 smaller. Estimated 
floor space, 700 square feet. 

Assistant attorney in charge of dockets (Mr. Sheibley). —One private room, 1 
clerks’ room, 1 files room, about same as appointment clerk. Estimated floor 
space, 1,500 square feet. 

Assistant attorney (Colonel Hoxcard). —One room. Estimated floor space, 
400 square feet. 

Assistant attorney (Mr. Pagin). —One room. Estimated floor space, 400 
square feet. 

Special attorney (Mr. Hutchins). —One room, about. Estimated floor space, 
400 square feet. 

Special attorney (Mr. Carlton). —One room, about. Estimated floor space, 
400 square feet. 

Assistant attorney (Mr. Trainer). —Two rooms. Estimated floor space, 750 
square feet. 

Laic clerk (Mr. Cauldwell). —Two rooms. Estimated floor space, 750 square 
feet. 


DIVISION OF ACCOUNTS. 

Office force. —This division now occupies the entire fourth floor of the Baltic 
Building, and one room on third floor, aggregating 3,293 square feet of floor 
space. This is office space only, and does not include halls, stairs, passageways, 
toilets, etc. 

Chief of division states he does not need at present any more floor space 
than he now occupies, but prefers more compact quarters—say one large room 
and two smaller (employs 25 men and 3 ladies). Estimated floor space, 3,400 
square feet. 

Supplies for United States courts. —One office room, 1 packing and shipping 
room, 1 large storage room, 1 small storage room. Main supply room in base¬ 
ment now used is 24 by 105 feet, and also two other rooms are used, of average 
office size. Estimated floor space, 4,350 square feet. 


SPANISH TREATY CLAIMS COMMISSION. 


Five rooms for Commissioners (5 Commissioners) ; 1 Commissioner’s court 
room, 20 by 30 feet, at least; 1 room, clerk of Commission; 1 room, assistant 
clerks; 1 large room, Commissioners’ stenographers (5); 1 deputy marshal’s 
room; 1 messengers’ room; 1 files room. Estimated floor space, 5,800 square feet 


CODIFYING COMMISSION. 

Three rooms for Commissioners (3 Commissioners) ; 1 room for law clerk; 1 
large room for stenographers. Estimated floor space, 2,200 square feet. 


O BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT, 


LIBRARY. 

There are now 7,375 linear feet of shelving used for books at the Department of 
Justice library at Seventeenth street and Pennsylvania avenue. 

Assistant librarian estimates 15,000 linear feet of shelf space will be re¬ 
quired for the accessions of the next thirty years. This estimate does not in¬ 
clude the books in one large room at 1435 K street. 

One main library room, 2 private reading rooms, 1 conference room. 


Estimated floor space : Square feet. 

Main library room_2, 800 

Two private reading rooms_1, 000 

Conference room_ 700 

ESTIMATED FLOOR SPACE-RECAPITULATION. 

Square feet. 

Attorney-General _ 3,700 

Solicitor-General _ 2, GOO 

Assistant to Attorney-General_ 1, 800 

Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. Van Orsdel)_ 7,800 

Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. Russell)_ 1,500 

Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. McReynolds)_ 1,500 

Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. Robb)_ 1,500 

Assistant Attorney-General (Judge Thompson)_ 3,200 

Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. Fuller)_ 4,200 

Special Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. Burch)_ 700 

General agent (General Clay)- 1,500 

Chief clerk_ 4, 500 

Chief clerk, filing space, storage, carpenter and cabinet shops_ 2, 500 

Appointment clerk_ 1, 500 

Pardon attorney_ 1,500 

Disbursing clerk_ 1, 300 

Examiner of titles_ 700 

Assistant attorney in charge of dockets_ 1, 500 

Assistant attorney (Colonel Howard)_ 400 

Assistant attorney (Mr. Pagin)_ 400 

Assistant attorney (Mr. Trainer)_ 750 

Special attorney (Mr. Hutchins)_ 400 

Special attorney (Mr. Carlton)_ 400 

Law clerk_ 750 

Division of accounts_ 3, 400 

Division of accounts, supplies for United States courts_ 4, 350 

Spanish Treaty Claims Commission_ 5, 800 

Codifying Commission_ 2, 200 

Library- 4,500 


Total- 66,850 


Mr. O. J. Field, chief, clerk Department of Justice, and James Iv. 
Taylor, Supervising Architect of the Treasury, appeared before the 
subcommittee. 

STATEMENT OF 0. J. FIELD, CHIEF CLERK DEPARTMENT OF 

JUSTICE. 

Senator Wetmore. Air. Field, will you tell us about what you 
think Air. Aloody’s views are in the matter of a building for the De¬ 
partment of Justice ? 

Mr. Field. I do not feel, Senator, that I am authorized to say any¬ 
thing for him. He has never talked with me very much on the sub¬ 
ject. 

Senator Wetmore. So far as you know them, you might give us his 
views. 




































BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 7 

Mr. Field. At the time he spoke to me, very briefly, he did not 
express any definite views. He has been away for several days. 

Senator Wetmore. I understand he will be back to-morrow. 

Mr. Field. He will be home to-morrow night, we expect now. 

Senator Wetmore. And then he will find an accumulation of busi¬ 
ness, will he not? 

Mr. Field. Yes, sir. I think I could say for him that he would be 
glad to meet you at any time after he returns. I am sure he would 
arrange his business so as to meet w ith you. 

Senator Wetmore. Can you give us any information in the mean¬ 
while ? 

. Mr. Field. There is really nothing I could say, Senator, in addi¬ 
tion to what has been sent you through the mails. 

Senator Wetmore. That is the letter that was written to Senator 
Scott ? 

Mr. FieUd. The Attorney-General’s letter, with the estimates fur¬ 
nished by one of the architects from the Supervising Architect’s 
office, and a statement I sent as to the growth of the Department. 

Senator Wetmore. Do you expect the Department will grow as 
much in the future as it has grown in the last few years ? 

Mr. Field. The general tendency toward the centralization of the 
judicial functions of the Government seems to indicate material 
growth. 

Senator Wetmore. The growth has been rather intermittent, has it 
not ? At times it has been quite slow ? 

Mr. Field. At times it is that way; yes, sir; according to legisla¬ 
tion from time to time and cases that may come up for consideration. 

Senator Dryden. I suppose the bringing in of all these corpora¬ 
tions under the supervision and control of the Government has added 
to your work? 

Mr. Field. Yes ; that adds some; and, of course, the legal business 
of the country does grow. As it grows it takes more attorneys to care 
for it, and those attorneys have to have accommodations and office 
room. Then, too, there are usually here one or two commissions for 
which we have to provide quarters. I might mention the Spanish 
Treaty Claims Commission. 

Senator Wetmore. They have their own building now ? 

Mr. Field. We rent a building for them. 

Senator Wetmore. That is under you ? 

Mr. Field. Yes, sir. The law establishing that Commission pro¬ 
vides that the Department of Justice shall furnish them with their 
quarters, but, of course, we rented the quarters. 

Senator Wetmore. That is the building on H street ? 

Mr. Field. On H street. I mention that because that rent has 
been increased on us twice, and the last lease expires on the 1st of 
April. We are unable to negotiate a new lease, and we are now 
hunting for a new building for them. 

Senator Dryden. How large a force is there in the Commission ? 

Mr. Field. I have not the figures here to tell you exactly, but there 
are probably 25 attorneys employed there altogether. Then there 
is the Codifying Commission. While we presume they will finish 
their labors soon, I mention that because there is usually something 
of that kind for which we have to provide quarters in addition to 
our own regular office force. 


8 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

Senator Wetmore. Ought or ought not the Court of Claims to be 
in your building? 

Mr. Field. I should say not, Senator, though that is my personal 
view. I am not authorized to make any statement for the Depart¬ 
ment. 

Senator Wetmore. They have their own building now ? 

Mr. Field. The Government has purchased that building and has 
fitted it up very nicely for them. I can see no particular occasion 
for anything different for them. 

Senator Wetmore. Suppose the Government hereafter should ac¬ 
quire that whole square ? The number they employ there is not 
sufficiently large to justify the erection of a building for them? 

Mr. Field. I think not; no, sir. 

Senator Wetmore. And they ought really to come into your build¬ 
ing, perhaps? 

Mr. Field. There is no reason why that could not be done. They 
could work in very nicely. 

Senator Wetmore. They used to be in the old Department of Jus- 
tice ? 

Mr. Field. Yes, sir; they occupied the first floor of that building. 

Senator Wetmore. I suppose they took up a good part of that 
building, did they not? 

Mr. Field. They had one floor. 

Senator Wetmore. One out of how many floors? 

Mr. Field. That was a five-story building. 

Senator Wetmore. Now they have spread out and have a great 
deal more room? 

Mr. Field. The Court of Claims? 

Senator Wetmore. Yes. 

Mr. Field. Yes, sir. 

Senator Wetmore. Are they not occupying about as much room 
as ,you had altogether in the old building? 

Mr. Field. Almost as much, I think. Their court rooms are on 
the second floor, which has been very handsomely fitted for them. 
Then they have some conference rooms on the first floor. The rear 
part of the first floor of that building is used for the Department of 
Justice library. 

Senator Wetmore. How large a library have you? 

Mr. Field. We have about 35,000 volumes. 

Senator Wetmore. Would you put that in a single room? 

Mr. Field. I think so; yes. I think it would be the plan to have 
one large room for that properly fitted for library purposes. 

Senator Wetmore. Have you not very important files in your De¬ 
partment which, if they were destroyed, would be a great loss to the 
Government ? 

Mr. Field. Yes, sir; all of the Department files at present are ex¬ 
posed to fire. We have no fireproof vaults. 

Senator Wetmore. It would be a great loss to the Government if 
they were destroyed ? 

# Mr. Field. Tt would be; certainly. All the files from 1789 up, 
since the foundation of the Government, are there, Of course there 
are at different times a great many valuable and confidential papers 
relating to prosecutions and matters of that kind. 


BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 9 


Senator Wetmore. I suppose they are put in separate safes, are 
they not? 

Mr. F ield. At present we have two or three safes in the building, 
and we put them in there, such as we think should be especially 
locked up and kept safe; but there are all the appointment files and 
pardon files and the disbursing clerk’s accounts, which represent 
hundreds of thousands of dollars to him. 

Senator Wetmore. Should there be special vaults made for those 
files? 

Mr. Field. I do not imagine any special provision need be specified 
as to vaults. That is, the necessary vault space would work out of 
itself in any ordinary modern office building, I think. 

Senator Wetmore. But should there be fireproof vaults in every 
building ? 

Mr. Field. There should be. There certainly should be a series 
of fireproof vaults up through the building, which would give each 
floor access to vaults at least, and possibly some particular offices 
should have a sort of vault room attached. 

Senator Wetmore. Mr. Taylor [the Supervising Architect of the 
Treasury], are the buildings now being erected under your super¬ 
vision as Supervising Architect of the Treasury supposed to be fire¬ 
proof, as a rule ? 

Mr. Taylor. They are so-called fireproof; yes. They have wood 
in them. 

Senator Wetmore. How nearly fireproof are they ? 

Mr. Taylor. They are the same as a commercial building. 

Senator Wetmore. You mean a room might be burned out without 
involving the destruction of the whole building? 

Mr. Taylor. Certainly. 

Senator Wetmore. Then, if you had a fireproof building for the 
Department of Justice, fitted with steel file cases, etc., would that be 
practically safe enough ? 

Mr. Taylor. Practically fireproof; yes. Papers, you know, Sen¬ 
ator, will not burn if they are properly massed. A mass of papers put 
in a bunch by themselves will not burn. They are like a book. They 
burn off the edges, and then the fire will go out for lack of oxygen; 
but if they get loose so that the wind can catch them, then they will 
make a bonfire. 

Senator Wetmore. Mr. Field, have you anything to say about the 
growth of the Department? 

Mr. Field. I might give you a brief statement from this statement 
I have here. In the old building on Pennsylvania avenue, which was 
just an ordinary small office building, the Department occupied four 
floors. This was seven years ago. When the Department first moved 
from there they rented the Baltic Building on K street, containing 
35,000 square feet of floor space, and also one building on Lafayette 
square, containing 8,000 square feet of floor space. At the same time 
our library was placed in the Court of Claims building, occupying 
8,000 square feet of floor space more. 

Two years later—1901—to relieve the building on Lafayette square, 
the Department rented nine rooms in the Bond Building, containing 
about 1,700 square feet of floor space, and the same year we rented the 
building on Vermont avenue directly east of the Baltic Building, con- 
taining & about 14,000 square feet oi floor space. Then, in the same 


10 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

year, we rented the building for the Spanish Treaty Claims Commis¬ 
sion. So that within two years after the Department moved from its 
own building, we were obliged to rent two additional buildings and 
one suite of office rooms in an office building, and the total amount of 
floor space in these additional buildings and rooms was about one- 
third of that formerly occupied by the Department in its own building. 

Then, two years later again—in 1903—the Department rented the 
building directly west of its main building on K street, containing 
about 7,600 feet of floor space, and we are crowded now. We have 
not an available room or anything in which we can place an addi¬ 
tional attorney if such a thing became necessary. 

Senator Wetmore. What is the total of floor space you occupy to¬ 
day? 

Mr. Field. The total floor space of our buildings at present, in¬ 
cluding the library and the Spanish Treaty Claims Commission, is 
about 90,000 square feet; but that is measuring up the buildings in 
the aggregate, including the corridors and all such space as that. 

Senator Wetmore. What do you estimate for new buildings? 

Mr. Field. The architect from the Supervising Architect’s office, 
who went through the buildings with me to make estimates for that, 
estimated that to properly provide for all the offices at present 
would require 66,850 square feet of floor space. That is the actual 
floor space, exclusive of corridors, vaults, elevator shafts, closets, 
storage rooms, and things of that sort. 

Senator Wetmore. What allowance do you make for all that— 
about a third ? 

Mr. Taylor. They allowed more than that, Senator. They 
allowed up to 120,000—four floors, at 30,000 each. 

Senator Wetmore. Is not that a large allowance? 

Mr. Taylor. It is a large allowance for hall space. 

Senator Wetmore. I thought the usual allowance was about one- 
third. 

Mr. Taylor. About 30 to 40 per cent. But that is for the average 
mercantile building. Of course, for a Government Department build¬ 
ing a more liberal allowance is made—up to 50 per cent. 

Senator Wetmore. I suppose for a Department building you would 
have a larger proportion of extra space, would you not? 

Mr. Taylor. Yes, sir. 

Senator Wetmore. The corridors would be wider? 

Mr. Taylor. Yes; and the entrance would be more monumental. 

Senator Wetmore. What growth do you think there is going to be 
in your Department? 

Mr. Field. At the time the architect went through the buildings 
with me and made these estimates I talked with the different officials 
to get their idea of what might be the growth, and the average opin¬ 
ion seemed to be that looking forward, say, twenty-five years, we 
should add about one-third. 

Senator Wetmore. Mr. Moody, in his letter, as I understand it. 
thinks that the allowance is a liberal one for the actual occupation?* 

Mr. Field. For the present; yes, sir. 

Senator Wetmore. But with no reference to future enlargement? 

Mr. Field. In talking with him I mentioned a growth of about one- 
third in twenty-five years, and he seemed to think perhaps that was 
about as accurate as we could conjecture now. 


BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 11 

Senator Wetmore. In the case of the Congressional Library, it was 
thought there would be room for fifty or sixty years when that build¬ 
ing was erected, and it is said to be crowded to-day, and it has hardly 
been occupied ten years. 

Mr. Taylor. Hardly that. 

Senator Dryden. That is almost inevitable. 

Senator Wetmore. I think, as a rule, people underestimate. 

Senator Dryden. Almost always. 

Senator Wetmore. It was supposed when the Post-Office building 
was first occupied there would be room for other departments. 

Mr. Taylor. Yes; Mr. Malian figured out they would have a whole 
floor. 

Senator Wetmore. And as it is, there is not room enough for the 
Post-Office Department. 

Mr. Taylor. There was not room when they moved in. 

Senator Wetmore. How many years was that building? 

Mr. Taylor. It was occupied in 1898. 

Senator Wetmore. But how many years was it building? 

Mr. Taylor. It was started in 1891; but in the meantime, you re¬ 
member, it has been changed for three different purposes. 

Senator Wetmore. Is there anything else, Mr. Field? 

Mr. Field. I do not think there is anything further I would like to 
say. There is the question of the location of a site. Of course that 
is something that is away beyond me and will be considered by the 
Attorney-General. 

Senator Wetmore. In other words, you do not feel that you have 
the authority to speak? 

Mr. Field. No; and I am not familiar enough with his views to 
express them for him. In talking with him one day he merely stated 
that of course some of those squares around Lafayette Square would 
be his first preference. Then he spoke of sites down on the Avenue, 
but it was all in a very indefinite way. 

STATEMENT OF JAMES K. TAYLOR, SUPERVISING ARCHITECT OF 
THE TREASURY. 

Senator Wetmore. You have had a good deal to do with the build¬ 
ings in Washington, Mr. Taylor? 

Mr. Taylor. More or less; not so much to do with the buildings in 
Washington as I have outside. 

Senator Wetmore. Do you know something about the previous 
plans for a Department of Justice building? 

Mr. Taylor. Yes, sir; I know something about it. 

Senator Wetmore. Suppose you state that. 

Mr. Taylor. The first one in mind was that one on the site right 
across north of the Treasury, a small block of ground next to the 
Lafayette Square Theater and between that and the Treasury. It 
was found, after a full set of drawings had been prepared, that that 
site would probably be too small, that it would bring the building out 
to the street line, and the cost of the building was beyond the limit 
of cost fixed by Congress. Then when it was found it was too small, 
they decided not to increase the cost, but to eliminate it entirely. They 
had a competition at that time. Mr. Hornblower and myself were 
the experts, and Mr. Post’s design was selected, and it was afterwards 


12 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

canceled and the legislation was annulled. The next thing that 
came up was the square to the west of Lafayette square. I did not 
have anything to do with that, so I do not know very much about it. 
I simply saw the drawings that Mr. Post had taken up with tho 
committee, which I was very much pleased with. 

Senator Wetmore. That occupied a whole block? 

Mr. Taylor. That occupied a whole square, and was to accommo¬ 
date not only the Department of Justice, but the Department of 
State as well. There was some talk at that time of making it a 
three-occupant building, putting the Executive Office in there as 
well—the Executive Offices, the Department of State, and the De¬ 
partment of Justice—but I believe it was decided afterwards not to 
put the Executive Offices in, and the plan was made with a view of 
simply putting in the State Department and the Department of 
Justice. 

Senator Wetmore. And also accommodations for international con¬ 
gresses, perhaps. 

Mr. Taylor. Yes; possibly that sort of thing. Just what there was 
in that building I never knew very much about. I simply saw the 
small sketch. I am glad they did not build north of the Treasury. 
It would have killed the Treasury Department, which is already low 
at that end. 

Senator Dryden. Is there any advantage or disadvantage in having 
different Departments in the same building? 

Mr. Taylor. I should say it would depend a good deal on the 
Departments that were in the same building as to whether it would 
be a disadvantage. I do not think there is very much advantage in 
it, but whether it would be a disadvantage would depend, as I say, 
on the Departments. For instance, I should not imagine it would 
be very much disadvantage to put the Department of State and the 
Department of Justice in one building, because they have more or 
less similar questions coming up, but I think it would be a disad¬ 
vantage to put the Treasury Department with the Department of 
Justice in one building, because they do not have the close connection 
that others do. I think, as far as possible, it is desirable to put 
them in separate buildings. 

Senator Wetmore. Do you know, Mr. Field, whether when they 
had this building, the elevation of which we see here, for the Depart¬ 
ment of Justice and the State Department your Department would 
have preferred a separate building ? 

Mr. Field. I do not know of any objections, although that scheme 
was before my time as chief clerk. I was in the Department at the 
time, but I do not remember hearing anything said with relation to 
it. A building, of course, could be arranged so that two Depart¬ 
ments would be independent, and it would, I should think, be a 
saving in the way of heating and care of the building, would it not? 

Mr. Taylor. Yes; of course you could economize by having one 
building instead of two. 

. Senator Wetmore. I am a believer personally in having in the 
city of Washington at least every public building put upon a full 
square and having a low building rather than a high building, 
classical in its architecture. The great trouble I find in looking 
about for sites is that it is difficult to find a lot small enough for the 
Department of Justice in a single building. There would be an ad- 


BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 13 

vantage if we could put two Departments together, and in that case 
you could readily find blocks of the right size. Then, of course, they 
would look more important. 

Senator Dryden. The effect would be much more pleasing, would 
it not? 

Mr. Taylor. Much more, because you would have to do one of two 
things with a department like that at present. You would have to 
build half your building, or two-thirds of your building, as the case 
might be, and then you would have an unfinished appearance for 
years. Taking one of the ordinary size squares, which are probably 
300 by 400 feet, 120,000 feet in one area, they would have the whole 
area they want on one floor. 

Senator Wetmore. In the sites suggested by the park commission 
on the Mall there are two buildings going up, one for the Department 
of Agriculture and the other for the National Museum. I think 
they are about 750 feet in length. If you should put up a Depart¬ 
ment of Justice building only about 200 feet square it seems to me 
it would look so diminutive that it would be out of scale with the 
other buildings; so that nowhere along the Mall would there seem to 
be an appropriate site, supposing my objection is a valid one. Then 
when you go south of Pennsylvania avenue the blocks are too large 
for a single building like the Department of Justice, and I think the 
park commission have consolidated the blocks suggested by them 
rather than subdivided them. 

Mr. Taylor. That is the objection that has always been in my mind 
in undertaking to place those buildings at present south of the ave¬ 
nue, that they are trying to place them in squares as they exist now. 
You never can get the proportion that you speak of wanting between 
a building that is 700 feet long and one that is 200 feet long unless 
the property is laid out so that it does not seem to suggest that each 
building should be the same size right straight down the line. You 
can lay your property out so that one building will be proportionately 
smaller than the others if the property is properly laid out; but as 
long as you stick to the squares there you are handicapped. It is 
like taking a stock-size window and trying to make it in proportion 
to a design. 

Senator Wetmore. With respect to buying property, what do you 
find the Government has to pay ordinarily ? 

Mr. Taylor. I can speak of the last two purchases that our Depart¬ 
ment has charge of. We bought square 143 for the Hall of Records, 
which is west of the War Wepartment. 

Senator Wetmore. That is opposite Chief Justice Fuller’s house? 

Mr. Taylor. Yes; right opposite. For that we paid two and one- 
tenth times the valuation of property and improvements. For square 
324, the one back of the post-office, the final agreement was that we 
would pay three times the assessed value taken of property and im¬ 
provements. 

Senator Wetmore. You got the agreement on the part of all the 
owners, did you ? 

Mr. Taylor. Not all of them. We got about 65 per cent of them, 
and are condemning the rest; but having 65 per cent, we have a 
pretty good show to condemn the rest at the same rate. 

Senator Wetmore. Do you think that is a pretty fair test of what 
the Government has to pay ? 


14 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

Mr. Taylor. Yes, sir; I think it is two to three times the assessed 
valuation. 

Senator Wetmore. What is that owing to? Is it because the as¬ 
sessment of the city is too low or the fault of the landowners taking 
advantage ? 

Mr. Taylor. The landowners take a very great advantage in this 
city of the Government. When Congress appropriates a sum of 
money to buy a tract in the city of Washington, and there is a board 
of appraisement appointed, the board of appraisement divides that 
up into the proportionate part that each man gets on the square. 
They do not decide what the property is worth, but simply what part 
each owner gets. 

Senator Wetmore. I think that is all, Mr. Taylor. 

Mr. Field. Would you care for a statement of the rents we pay, 
Senator ? 

Senator Wetmore. Yes. 

Mr. Field. For the Baltic Building—that is, the main building on 
K street—$10,000 a year. For the building on the east, No. 1000 
Vermont avenue, $6,500 per year. 

Senator Wetmore. That is the Lowry Building? 

Mr. Field. Yes, sir. For the building on the west, which is No. 
1439 K street, $2,400 a year. 

Senator Wetmore. That is the one the Carnegie Institute had at 
one time ? 

Mr. Field. Yes, sir. For the building, No. 8 Lafayette square, 

$ 2 , 100 . 

Senator Wetmore. Is that the house the President was in one 
year—the Townsend house ? 

Mr. Field. No; it is in that same square, but it is not that building 
at all. For nine rooms in the Bond Building, $1,800 a year. For the 
Spanish Treaty Claims Commission, 1411 H street, $3,000 a year; 
making a total of $25,800 a year. Besides that, there is the Codifying 
Commission in the Bond Building. They pay their own expenses. 
I do not know what rent they pay. I only speak of it because they 
probably would be housed with the Department if we had a building 
of our own. There is also the library, which occupies a considerable 
space in the Court of Claims building, for which we pay nothing, of 
course. 

Senator Wetmore. Do you contemplate hiring any more buildings? 

Mr. Field. Nothing further than I spoke of before, as to the Span¬ 
ish Treaty Claims Commission. 

Senator Wetmore. That is simply an exchange. 

Mr. Field. They will be forced out of there the 1st of April. 

The subcommittee, at 5 o’clock p. m., adjourned subject to the call 
of the chairman. 


Subcommittee or the 

Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, 

United States Senate, 
Washington , 1>. C., March 1906 . 

,The subcommittee met at 11.30 o’clock a. m. 

Present: Senators Wetmore (chairman), Dryden, and Clay. By 
invitation: The Attorney-General; Mr. O. J. Field, chief clerk pf the 
Department of Justice. 



BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 15 


Senator Wetmore. I will read, before we proceed further, a letter 
from Senator Scott, addressed to me, as follows: 

United States Senate, March 6, 1906. 

I herewith hand you the papers in connection with the building for the De¬ 
partment of Justice. I have appointed you chairman of a subcommittee, with 
Senators Dryden and Clay, to look into the location of a site, and to report at 
the very first meeting we have a hill covering the suggestions contained in the 
letter I inclose, and with a recommendation to carry this appropriation either 
in a separate bill or as an amendment to the appropriation bill. 

I will, of course, be glad at any time to confer with the subcommittee. 

I may say that I have sent around to ask Senator Scott to be here, 
but he is at a meeting of the Committee on Military Alfairs, before 
which Secretary Taft appears this morning, and he is unable to come. 

We would be glad to have you, Mr. Attorney-General, develop the 
situation as it appears to you. 

STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM H. MOODY, ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 

Attorney-General Moody. Mr. 'Chairman, I think there can be no 
question about the very great need of some building for the Depart¬ 
ment of Justice. We are scattered through seven different buildings, 
in different parts of the city. We have not in any one of them any 
fireproof receptacle for our important papers. There are very many 
papers that are important historically, and there are papers which 
are important in current work. 

Senator Dryden. Are all the old records of the Government ex¬ 
posed to that risk ? 

Attorney-General Moody. All the old records of the Government 
in our keeping are exposed to that risk. We have, of course, many 
papers which are in the nature of evidence, and many investigations 
which concern the good name of judges and district attorneys, and 
many papers which contain the result of very elaborate and costly 
research. All of these could be swept away by a fire. 

The buildings, or group of buildings, in which the principal work¬ 
men, if I may so call them, in the Department do their work is that 
group of buildings between Vermont avenue and Fifteenth street. 
The library is in the old Corcoran Art Gallery, which is about half a 
mile distant from my office. If I want a report from Georgia or 
New Jersey, I have to send over there to get it. It takes time. It is 
expensive to be constantly sending for books. It takes the time of the 
laborers, and the result is that the workmen and their tools are apart, 
when they ought to be brought together. That is the present situa¬ 
tion. It is unsafe, uneconomical, and humiliating for the Depart- 
ment. 

The Department has grown with great rapidity in the last few 
years. Up to 1VT0 the Attorney-General was the personal adviser 
of the President and the heads of Departments. By legislation which 
I think was enacted in 1870, the Attorney-General has now become 
the head of the administration of the law throughout the country. 
I mean, of course, of the Federal branch of the law. He is made the 
superior officer of all district attorneys, and he is in touch with liti¬ 
gation, civil and criminal. Of course he has a special responsibility 
with regard to the judges of the Territorial courts, a responsibility 
which he has not with respect to constitutional courts. That added 


16 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

function has rendered him an important administrative officer. It 
has increased the scope of his duties immensely, and as the litigation 
of the country grows—and it is now growing with great rapidity 
that is, litigation in which the United States is interested his duties 
broaden and become more important. 

Senator Clay. It is bound to continue to grow ? 

Attorney-General Moody. It is bound to continue to grow. That 
brings me to the consideration of that question. The recent litigation, 
which I need not do more than indicate, growing out of the inter¬ 
state-commerce law and laws against combinations, has just begun to 
show its effect. The proper execution of the duties of the Attorney- 
General under those laws will, in my judgment, lead to a complete re¬ 
organization of the Government. The Attorney-General has more to 
do than any one man ought to be called upon to do, and he has to 
take a greater responsibility than any one man ought to take. I am 
not suggesting, and shall not suggest while I am in office, any reor¬ 
ganization of the Department, but it is bound to come sooner or later. 
That will accelerate the growth which, in the last few years, has been 
rapid. Moreover, the whole tendency of legislation is to broaden the 
Federal power. 

Senator Dryden. Before you leave the point of reorganization will 
you, for our information, elaborate a little upon that matter, be¬ 
cause when we go before the Senate we want to understand these 
points. I do not mean for you to go into details. As I understand, 
from your remarks, this increase will involve the employment of a 
larger clerical staff connected with your Department. 

Attorney-General Moody. A larger staff connected with the De¬ 
partment, in part clerical and in part legal. For instance, the work 
which will grow out of the Federal exercise of governmental power 
to regulate railways, without going into any of the disputed points, 
means an immense burden upon the office of the Attorney-General. 
I think it will have to be that all that work must be separated and 
put under another head, responsible to the Attorney-General, but 
with power to deal with that work independently. I think that the 
Department must be reorganized in this way also: That there must 
be some administrative head. If the Attorney-General is to continue 
to be the adviser of the President and heads of Departments; if he 
is to continue to take some personal part in the important litigation 
of the Government, notably before the Supreme Court of the United 
States, he must be relieved of the duties of administration. There 
must be some organization which places at the head of that part of 
his work a person solely responsible to him. This will indicate the 
line along which I think the organization of the Department must 
be conducted. 

I say this to show that you must not only meet the situation as it 
exists to-day, but you must meet the situation as it will exist under 
this tendency to nationalize the Government. I think I need not do 
more than to suggest that to Senator Dryden, because he is at the 
head of the movement which indicates that in a very large degree. 

Perhaps I have said too much on that subject. It is relevant here 
only to the proposition that dealing with existing conditions now will 
not be an adequate solution of this problem. I think a building 
should be erected which will give a reasonable liberal margin for the 


BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 17 

increase in business and increase in the personnel of the Department 
of Justice. 

I think I have said all I can say about the necessity. 

Senator Clay. How many employees are there in the Department 
of Justice? 

Mr. Field. Two hundred and ninety-five. That is the actual num¬ 
ber, including officials, attorneys, clerks, messengers, and laborers. 

Senator Clay. Do you mean to say the records of the Department 
are exposed to fire ? 

Attorney-General Moody. We have safes, but nothing which would 
be a sufficient protection in case of fire. Accidentally some safe 
might come out of the fire with some of its contents intact. 

Senator Clay. Do you mean to say the library is separated from 
the Attorney-General’s office ? 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes, sir. 

Senator Clay. The Department of Justice has no home except 
some rented buildings, some here and some yonder. Some of them 
are grouped together, but you occupy different buildings in different 
localities ? 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes, sir. 

Senator Wetmore. At this point it might be well to make a state¬ 
ment as to what buildings you are now occupying, to supplement 
what Senator Clay has just said. 

Mr. Field. There is the Baltic Building, 1435 K street, the main 
building. That was rented in 1899, at $10,000 a year; building No. 
8 Lafayette square, rented in 1899, at $2,400 a year. Then the library 
is in the Court of Claims building, at Seventeenth and Pennsylvania 
avenue. 

Senator Wetmore. The old Corcoran Art Gallery ? 

Mr. Field. Yes. We have a large back room in there which is 
used, but for which no rent is paid. In 1901 the Department rented 
a suite of nine rooms in the Bond Building, at $1,800 a year, and in 
the same year the building at 1000 Vermont avenue. That is a 
building to the east of the main building. 

Senator Wetmore. The corner building? 

Mr. Field. Yes; the old Lowry Building, at $6,500 a year; and 
the same year a building at 1415 H street, for the Spanish Treaty 
Claims Commission, for which we now pay $3,000 a.year; and two 
years later, in 1903, the Department rented the building next to the 
main building on the west, where the Carnegie Institute was at one 
time. 

Senator Wetmore. That is at the corner of Fifteenth street and 
McPherson square? 

Mr. Field. Yes. 

Senator Wetmore. Giving you the whole frontage on that block ? 

Mr. Field. Yes; for which we pay $2,400 a year. The total rent 
paid is $25,800. I have given the amounts from my mind, but I 
think they are correct. 

Attorney-General Moody. In addition to that we have a great many 
special counsel employed throughout the country. There is a grow¬ 
ing tendency to employ special counsel. I think there has been a little 
abuse in that respect. I think throughout the country the district 
attorneys have been willing to draw their salaries and do the routine 
work and have rather expected the aid of special counsel when any- 
S. Rep. 8, 60-1-2 


18 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 


thing of any special importance arose. I have been trying to fight 
against that tendency, but not with very great success. I think we 
ought to have district attorneys of sufficient capacity to handle all the 
important litigation of the country. I would not say that now and 
then a case would not arise where we should have to have special 
counsel. 

Senator Clay. In litigation of a very important nature it is gen¬ 
erally pretty hard to get, in some sections, a district attorney who 
can handle it, especially complicated questions that may arise tinder 
the interstate-commerce act. 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes. Of course, cases like the tobacco 
investigation, for instance, it would be impracticable to put in the 
hands of a district attorney, because the investigation extends all over 
the country. In such a case as that you must always have special 
counsel; but the tendency has been to employ special counsel in cases 
that arise within the jurisdiction of the court to which the district 
attorney is attached, not upon the ground that it would be difficult 
for the district attorney to do the work, if he had the capacity and 
industry to do it, but on the ground that somebody else could do it 
better than he could. 

The employment of outside counsel will have to continue; but I 
think, with the proper organization of the Department, there would 
be a less proportionate number of outside counsel employed. I have 
tried to get my assistant attorneys-general in touch with the various 
important pieces of litigation. I have occasionally asked them to go 
and try a case in some of the circuit or district courts throughout the 
country, and they have done it. That has occasionally avoided the 
necessity of the employment of counsel. But all that is at all rele¬ 
vant in this connection is that the Department is growing very rap- 
idly, indeed, and is going to grow more rapidly in the future. 

Senator Dryden. The rental paid for these various buildings 
already represents, at 2 per cent, a capital of about $1,300,000, and 
with the growth of your Department it is not unlikely that rental 
will, perhaps, be doubled within the near future—within a few years, 
ten years, probably. 

Attorney-General Moody. I think I can say with safety it will be 
doubled in ten years. 

Senator Dryden. That being so, you at once have this condition: 
The Government is now paying and in the future will by increases 
pay a rental which at 2 per cent would provide for the building of 
this structure, besides giving all the additional ground. I am speak¬ 
ing of it from a narrow point of view. 

Senator Clay. From a financial point of view only. 

Senator Dryden. Just a pure financial point of view. Of course 
that is only one point, but if objection is made to it, you have that 
point of view—the strict financial point of view. 

Senator Clay. In a great Government like this the Department of 
Justice is a very important Department, and the preservation of 
these records is of vast importance to the country. As the General 
has said, you take the character of a judge or of a district attorney 
or of any public man connected with the Department of Justice and 
the records may be very essential to him some day. The records of 
the Department of Justice and of every Department of the Govern¬ 
ment ought to be preserved under all circumstances. 


BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 19 

Senator Dryden. They are priceless. 

Senator Clay. We can not afford to have in a great Government 
like this no home for the Department of Justice. 

Attorney-General Moody. Let me give you a rather humiliating 
example of the position in which w r e are placed. I will not name the 
particular building. The landlord of one of the buildings which we 
rent, and which we must have, declined to make repairs which, in 
my judgment, under the terms of the tenancy, he was bound to make. 
I started to be very severe with him and insist upon our rights. In 
substance, he replied: “ If you don’t like it, you can get out,” and I 
had to submit. I could not be turned out upon the streets, and there¬ 
fore I was at his mercy. In the main I think our landlords have 
treated us with fairness, but as the leases expire of course we are at 
their mercy upon the question of renewal. 

Mr. Field. I do not know, Mr. Attorney-General, that you under¬ 
stand the situation as to the Spanish Treaty Claims Commission fully, 
as I have not spoken to you about it for several weeks. 

Attorney-General Moody. You might explain that. 

Mr. Field. I mentioned it here the other day. We leased that build¬ 
ing five years ago for $200 a month for three years. At the expira¬ 
tion of three years they increased the rent $50 a month for two years. 
That two years’ lease expired the 1st of April. They demanded a 
further increase of $50 a month on a six months’ lease. We hardly 
wanted to lease a building for just six months, and in endeavoring to 
reach some compromise proposition for a longer tenancy they notified 
us that they declared all negotiations off a week or ten days before 
the lease expired, and we are hunting around for some place to move 
the Spanish Treaty Claims Commission to on a week’s notice. 

Senator Wetmore. Mr. Attorney-General, I think you had a state¬ 
ment prepared of the amount of space needed to-day. Will you state 
that? 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes; this statement was prepared by one 
of the architects connected with the Architect of the Treasury. 

Senator Clay. That is, the space for the Department of Justice? 

Attorney-General Moody. For the Department of Justice alone. I 
will leave this with the stenographer, if you please. 

Senator Wetmore. Just give the total, so as to have it in the record. 

Attorney-General Moody. The total floor space which would be re¬ 
quired to meet present conditions in a liberal way is 66,850 feet. 

Senator Wetmore. That is net. 

Attorney-General Moody. That is net. 

Senator Wetmore. Not including the corridors, etc.? 

Attorney-General Moody. No. 

Senator' Wetmore. And the estimate, including the corridors, is 
120,000, is it not? 

Senator Clay. Do you mean to meet present conditions, General ? 

Attorney-General Moody. To meet present conditions. 

Mr. Field. It would be 120,000 square feet of floor space, including 
corridors, vaults, and elevator shafts. 

The Chairman. The other is the net amount, without corridors, 
etc. ? 

Mr. Field. Actual office rooms. 

Senator Clay. What increase did you say there would probably be 
in your Department in ten years ? 


20 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 


Attorney-General Moody. Of course that is a matter-- 

Senator Clay. You can not tell accurately, of course. You can 
give us an idea though. 

Attorney-General Moody. I think if the Department develops, 
as it seems to me it will develop, it ought to at least double. 

Senator Clay. In ten years ? 

Attorney-General Moody. In ten years. I do not know that that 
means the floor space would have to be doubled. 

Senator Clay. I understand that. 

Attorney-General Moody. But the number of people connected with 
the Department will double. In this estimate, of course, there are 
some provisions that may be regarded as temporary adjuncts to 
the Department of Justice. There is a Codifying Commission, to 
which is allotted 2,200 feet. That, I think, will go out of existence 
within a year. 

Senator Clay. When will the Spanish Treaty Claims Commission 
go out of existence ? In a few years ? 

Attorney-General Moody. I do not know. It ought to go out of 
existence in a few years. I think they have done effective work and 
gone as far as they could be expected to go, but there will be new leg¬ 
islation. The pressure for it is already great, and it will be quite a 
number of years before their work is done. 

If there is one thing that can be expected ordinarily to occur it is 
extraordinary things. You always have the extraordinary things 
with you. If you do not have the Codifying Commission and the 
Spanish Treaty Claims Commission, you will have two other things 
that are extraordinary and temporary in their nature. Therefore I 
do not think it is safe to assume that that space will not be needed. 
If Congress turns its attention to a subject which needs attention 
very greatly indeed—namely, the codification and improvement of the 
criminal law—all space that is now occupied by the Codifying Com¬ 
mission will be needed for somebody who will do that kind of work. 

If Congress provides, as I think it should provide, some method for 
the supervision of our Federal prisoners, some method by which men 
may be released upon parole, that is going to require space. We are 
archaic in our treatment of convicts. We are inhumane. We are 
behind all other civilized jurisdictions. I doubt if there is any State 
in the Union that has not some method of dealing with criminals 
after they are convicted with a view to their reformation, with a view 
to their release when conditions come which call for their release, 
conditions which do not call for either a pardon or a commutation, 
but which, on account of the necessity for scientific treatment of crime 
and punishment of crime, call for some supervision of the convict 
after he gets into jail. We convict a man, of course, and send him 
and dump him into jail and forget him. We are not performing the 
full duty of society to a convicted criminal. 

Senator Wetmore. Your judgment, then, Mr. Attorney-General, 
is that, in addition to the amount of space suggested for your present 
needs, you ought to have from one-third to one-half in addition for 
future wants ? 

Attorney-General Moody. I think clearly so. 

Senator Clay. That is quite a variation, though, is it not, Senator? 
Would you not say, taking into consideration the growth of the De- 



BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 21 

partment and of the country, one-half or one-third, or between one- 
third and a half? 

Senator Wetmore. I wanted to be rather conservative in my sug¬ 
gestion, so I said one-third to one-half, the Attorney-General having 
suggested perhaps one-half. 

Attorney-General Moody. I think we ought to have at least half 
as much room more than that which we actually need now, and I 
think we ought to guard very carefully against taking what you 
provide for us and dividing it up among our existing demands. 
Let part of the building remain vacant, if you please. Do not divide 
it up and give everybody a big room and plenty of space, but leave 
vacant room into which the growth of the Department can extend as 
it comes. 

Senator Wetmore. If you have nothing else to say on this point, 
I want to ask your judgment as to the location for a building? 

Attorney-General Moody. The first general consideration is 
whether the Department of Justice should be in the neighborhood 
of the Supreme Court or in the neighborhood of the White House. 
I am very clear that it should be in the neighborhood of the White 
House; that it is a part of the executive government of the United 
States, and should be grouped with the other Department buildings. 
I notice a difference of opinion about that. 

Senator Wetmore. Where do you find the difference of opinion? 

Attorney-General Moody. Occasionally it is suggested that the 
Supreme Court and the Department of Justice should be put in one 
building at this end of the Avenue. I do not know how many people 
are in favor of that. I am not in favor of it. Of course the rela¬ 
tions of the Attorney-General and of the assistant attorneys-general 
with the Supreme Court are very important, but their relations with 
the President and with the heads of other Departments are still more 
important. 

Senator Wetmore. You mean the relations of your Department 
with them ? 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes. Moreover, I think it is for the 
convenience of the members of the two Houses that the Executive 
Departments should be in the same general region of the city. 

Senator Clay. That would put practically all of the Departments 
in the neighborhood of the White House ? 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes; it would group the Department 
buildings around the White House, varying, of course, in distance, 
but the White House would be the center toward which they tended 
to approach. The harmonious development of the capital, of course, 
means the devotion of this end of the Avenue to buildings which are 
attached more especially to the legislative branch of the Government. 

Senator Wetmore. Do you have before you now a map of the park 
commission ? 

Attorney-General Moody. I have here a map of the park commis- 
sion. 

Senator Wetmore. There is a diagram on the wall which, I think, 
is the same that you have, but is enlarged. 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes; it is. 

Senator* Wetmore. It shows the general grouping as suggested by 
the park commission for the different governmental buildings. There 
is also a similar diagram on the table before you. 


22 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

Attorney-General Moody. Taking these diagrams, if you depart 
from the theory of putting the building in the neighborhood of the 
Capitol, there seems to be a choice between three locations, if the 
broad park way extending from the Capitol to the Monument is de¬ 
veloped, as I presume it will be. 

Senator Wetmore. There being now two buildings going up on 
that space. 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes; two buildings are going up on it. 

Senator Wetmore. One for the Department of Agriculture and 
one for the National Museum. 

Attorney-General Moody. The second place which might be sug¬ 
gested would be the south side of Pennsylvania avenue. This, I think, 
is the most beautiful highway in the world, with the most disfiguring 
surroundings about it. It is probably hopeles r unless the south side 
is taken for public buildings—hopeless for many years, at least. 
That presents advantages for the beautification of the capital, if we 
should put our buildings along the south side. The third place, of 
course, is Lafayette Square. Either one of those three locations 
would be sufficiently convenient for working purposes. 

Senator Wetmore. When you say the south side of Pennsvlvania 
avenue you mean at the west end of it ? 

Attorney-General Moody. At the west end. 

Senator Wetmore. Not at the east end? 

Attorney^-General Moody. Not at the east end. I have had. a talk 
with Mr. McKim about the proper location of this building. Ho f 
course, is very desirous of developing Lafayette square. He th 
the devotion of that square to public buildings would most har¬ 
moniously develop the city, and he thinks the tendency of placing 
those, buildings in Lafayette square would be to improve another 
beautiful highway, Sixteenth street. Of course we have a lot now, 
as you know, near the Riggs Bank. It is not big enough unless you 
build a sky-scraper office building, and I suppose no one would like 
to do that. 

Senator Wetmore. We have here the elevation of Mr. George Post, 
made in competition. That was his sketch for a building on the old 
site of the Department of Justice. I happened to meet Mr. Post 
the other day on the train from New York here, and he told me he 
was never satisfied with that building himself—it was too high, and 
there was really not room enough at that point. 

Senator Clay. That is simply for one Department? 

Attorney-General Moody. For one Department. 

Senator Wetmore. He suggested, as a possibility— I do not know 
whether it is a possibility—that perhaps the whole western side of 
that block might be used so as to have the buildings face the square. 

Attorney-General Moody. You mean including the site of the 
theater * 

Senator Wetmore. Including the site of the theater. 

Attorney-General Moody. I had thought of that. 

Senator Wetmore. That would give the monumental appearance 
from the square that is desired. At the same time, that block now 
has become immensely valuable. You may have noticed in the last 
few days very important sales on the east side, the old Colonial Hotel 
and the buildings immediately back, and the part that adjoins the 


BUILDINGS FOB THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 23 

American Security and Trust Company, aggregating, I think, for the 
properties over a million dollars. 

Mr. Field. Something like $23 to $27 a foot. 

Senator Wetmore. Mr. Post’s idea was to have the front on La¬ 
fayette Square. 

Attorney-General Moody. It would be perfectly possible to front 
on Lafayette Square. 

Senator Wetmore. I suppose that would be an extensive site. It 
would take half a block. 

Attorney-General Moody. It would mean taking the insurance 
company building and taking at least the theater. 

Senator Wetmore. Going right up to H street? 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes; going right up to H street. 

Senator Clay. That is a beautiful location, too. 

Attorney-General Moody. That would be a beautiful location. If 
you placed it there that would also mean that the whole of Lafayette 
Square would be devoted to public buildings. It would make the 
opening. 

Senator Wetmore. In a bill introduced by Senator Fairbanks I 
think he suggested three locations. One of them was the whole of the 
square on which the present Court of Claims is situated, but there 
was opposition to the acquirement of that. 

Attorney-General Moody. Very great opposition. 

Senator Clay. Is it not the objection of private parties? 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes; a sentimental objection. 

Of course the great advantage of this parkway leading between the 
Capitol and the Monument is that we own the land. 

Senator Wetmore. The sites suggested by the park commission on 
the Mall would be rather far away from the White House. How 
about the Court of Claims going eventually in your building? 
Ought that to go in your building or not ? 

Attorney-General Moody. I do not suppose there is any special 
logic in putting it in our building. 

Senator Wetmore. Would there be ample space? 

Attorney-General Moody. There is no objection to it. It is a 
peculiar court with peculiar functions. The Government is a party 
to every case in that court. 

Senator Wetmore. It used to be in your building ? 

Attorney-General Moody. It used to be; yes. 

Senator Clay. What is your idea, General, in regard to the build¬ 
ing for the Department of Justice? Would it be> better to have a 
separate building, or could other Departments be in it, such as the 
Department of State? 

Senator Wetmore. Before the Attorney-General answers that ques¬ 
tion, let me say this: Senator Fairbanks’s bill contemplated a build¬ 
ing on the west side of Lafayette Square to accommodate the De¬ 
partment of Justice, the Department of State, and the Department 
of Commerce and Labor. Do you think it would be advisable to have 
two Departments together, for instance, yours and the Department 
of State? 

Attorney-General Moody. I should be entirely contented with that. 
I think the plan which would be better in the long run would be an 
absolute separation of the Departments. 


24 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

Senator Wetmore. Most of these blocks are so large that even 
adding the space which you think will be needed in the future, the 
building would not take a whole square. Of course the Government, 
having the right of condemnation, could always, if it cared to pay 
for it, acquire the balance of any block taken; but I confess that I 
should like to see every important building put upon an entire square 
and sufficiently set back from the street to give a good appearance, 
like the Congressional Library, and not too high a building as well, 
so as to be dignified architecturally. 

Senator Clay. I have an idea if you would take two or three of 
these Departments and combine them together in one building it 
would make a more magnificent building and give a better appear¬ 
ance and show off to better advantage at the capital of the nation. 

Attorney-General Moody. It certainly would now, and there is 
another advantage, Senator, in doing that. When you once devise a 
building, get a general plan for it, it is not capable of addition. You 
destroy the artistic effect when you begin to build wings on it, unless, 
indeed, you have made your plans as the plan of the Capitol was 
made, extensions being intended from the beginning. 

Senator Wetmore. Take, for instance, this design of Mr. Post’s 
for a building on the lot of the old Department of Justice, at the 
corner of Fifteenth street and Madison place. You could not enlarge 
that building without spoiling it. 

Senator Clay. I am not impressed with that design. I am much 
more impressed with the design for the building proposed for the 
Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce and Labor, on square 
No. 167, bounded by Pennsylvania avenue, Seventeenth street, H 
street, and Jackson place. 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes; I like that better. We at least 
ought to make a protest against the modern sky scraper. 

Let me pursue my thought a little further. I think you can not 
add to the building after you get it once constructed without destroy¬ 
ing its-beauty. 

Senator Wetmore. Unless in the beginning you plan for it. 

Attorney-General Moody. Unless in the beginning you have a plan 
which contemplates addition. On the other hand, if you erect a com¬ 
plete building that is large enough for two or more Departments, you 
can take one of these Departments out of that building later on and 
provide for your growth by the erection of an additional Department 
building, as will have to be done some time for the State, War, and 
Navy building. You could not add to the State, War, and Navy 
building very well, but you can take the Department of State out 
of it. 

Senator Clay. That building is very much crowded now, is it? 

Attorney-General Moody. It is very much crowded indeed. When 
I was Secretary of the Navy I found w^e were in half a dozen differ¬ 
ent buildings. Congress gave me the right to rent the Mills Build¬ 
ing, with the result that I gathered under the roof of that building 
all the outlying branches of the Navy Department, so that we were 
all together. But the War Department is scattered a good deal 
outside of the building. We thought we had provided for our 
growth for eight or ten years. The Navy has grown very rapidly. 

Senator Wetmore. The estimates for future growth are almost in¬ 
variably underestimates. 


BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 25 

Attorney-General Moody. Underestimates; yes. So that I would 
much rather have a building for the Department of Justice in com¬ 
mon with one or two other Departments than to have a building for 
the Department of Justice which would just meet present conditions, 
because I realize that as the Department of Justice and its associate 
departments grow, sooner or later one or the other of them would 
have to get out and have a separate building for itself. But we are 
in such a desperate condition that I am ready to take anything that 
would give us relief, though I hope we can get something that will 
be in harmony with the development of the capital along lines of 
beauty. 

Senator Clay. I think you will find the committee in sympathy 
with you. At least it was last year. 

Attorney-General Moody. I do not know there is anything else I 
can state. 

Mr. Field. Referring to what was said relative to the files of the 
Department and their exposure to destruction by fire, I might men¬ 
tion the accounts in the division of accounts. Tfiese accounts are the 
paid accounts of the United States marshals from all over the United 
States. The United States marshals are special disbursing officers 
for the expenses of United States courts, such as the payment of wit¬ 
nesses, fees of jurors, payment for support of United States prisoners, 
etc. They pay these accounts and forward them to the Department 
for examination, and of course they represent the same as cash to the 
marshals. They are in the Department all the time, up in the hun¬ 
dreds of thousands of dollars, but they are just piled up in a case on 
the wall, and in case of a fire they would go with the rest of it. It 
would be a question how the marshals could make a statement cover¬ 
ing their expenses. Papers such as these, representing money value, 
should undoubtedly be kept in a vault or a fireproof room in some 
way. 

Senator Wetmore. Mr. Attorney-General, will you give the sites 
you have considered in the order of their desirability ? 

Attorney-General Moody. (1) I think the best site is that on the 
west side of block 221, east of Lafayette square and north of Pennsyl¬ 
vania avenue, and I intend to include in that the 23,000 square feet 
already owned by the United States from which the old Department 
of Justice was removed, plus the land now occupied by the insurance 
building on Pennsylvania avenue east of the Department lot, plus 
the land occupied by the theater, at least, and preferably plus all the 
land between the Department of Justice lot and H street. 

(2) Any location fronting on Lafayette square would be equally 
as good as the one above mentioned. 

(3) The next site in point of desirability I think would be square 
170, bounded by New York avenue, Eighteenth street, F street, and 
Seventeenth street. I think that would be an admirable site. 

(4) The next would be on Pennsylvania avenue as near as possi¬ 
ble to the Treasury building. 

Senator Clay. Is that where the Regent Hotel is ? 

Attorney-General Moody. The region of the Regent Hotel. Just 
how many buildings that would take I can not state. It is square 
No. 226. 

(5) The next would be upon the Mall, at some place as near as 


26 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

possible to the White House; as near as possible, in other words, to 
the west end of the Mall. 

Senator Wetmore. Are you excluding specifically the west side of 
Lafayette square simply because you think it unobtainable ? 

Attorney-General Moody. Yes. I think I ought, perhaps, to add 
this: In speaking of the desirability of these different sites, I have 
left out of view the cost, not because the cost is not to be considered, 
but because the cost can be better considered by the committee than I 
can consider it. I do not want to be quoted as if I were utterly 
regardless of cost. 

The subcommittee, at 1 o’clock p. m., adjourned until Monday, 
March 26, 1906, at 11 o’clock a. m. 


Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, 

United States Senate, 

Washington , D. C ., Monday , March 26, 1906—11 o’clock a . m. 

The subcommittee met at 11 o’clock a. m., pursuant to adjournment. 

Present: Senators Wetmore (chairman) and Dr} 7 den. 

Senator Wetmore. Mr. Secretary, we are a subcommittee of the 
Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, appointed by the chair¬ 
man of that committee, Senator Scott, to look into the location of a 
site for the Department of Justice and the preparation of a bill cover¬ 
ing the suggestions contained in a letter from the Attorney-General. 
We find that a bill of this nature was introduced contemplating a 
building for the Department of State and the Department of Justice, 
and that later a bill was reported from the Committee on Public 
Building and Grounds of the Senate contemplating a building for the 
Department of State, the Department of Justice, and the Department 
of Commerce and Labor. 

I have also a letter from Mr. George B. Post, architect of New 
York City, dated the 17th of March, 1906, in which he states that at 
various times he has made drawings for buildings for the Department 
of Justice, the Court of Claims, and the Department of State and 
President’s offices, and for a combination, leaving out the Court of 
Claims and making quarters for the Department of Justice, Secretary 
of State, and a grand suite of rooms in connection with the Secretary 
of State’s offices which could be used for international arbitrations and 
other commissions and on occasions of ceremony for great public func¬ 
tions and a suite of reception rooms for the President. Although our 
appointment is simply for the purpose of suggesting a site and report¬ 
ing a bill for the Department of Justice, we would like to hear from 
you as to the incorporation in that building of your Department and 
whatever you may care to say in regard to the change of your Depart¬ 
ment to a separate building or a joint building. 

STATEMENT OF HON. ELIHU ROOT, SECRETARY OF STATE. 

Secretary Root. The Department of State is very much in need of 
more room, both for its current work and for things that it ought to 
do but does not now do for lack of proper facilities. The south end 
of the present State, War, and Navy Building was originally designed 
for the State Department. It was built about thirty years ago ; but I 



BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS* OF THE GOVERNMENT. 27 


can not recall the exact date. I think it was finished about 1875 or 
1876. I suppose it was considered at the time that the room which 
was furnished would meet the needs of the Department. Since that 
time, however, nearly one-half of the space in the south wing of the 
building, originally constructed for the State Department thirty years 
ago, has been taken away from it and assigned to the uses of the War 
Department and the Navy Department; so that, if we consider only 
the office rooms and storage room now used by the State Department, 
it is only 50 per cent of the space provided for it by Congress thirty 
years ago. That, however, does not include the library of the State 
Department. If you include the library we have almost exactly 60 
per cent of the room provided thirty years ago for the Department, 

It is unnecessary to say that the business of the State Department 
has enormously increased in the past thirty years. It has enormously 
increased in the past ten years. It has increased since the war with 
Spain. Thirty years ago, and for a long time after that, American 
capital and American enterprise were engrossed in the development 
of our own country. We were a debtor nation. We were borrow¬ 
ing money in Europe for the development of our own resources. 
There was but little business arising from the investment of American 
capital and the exercise of American activity in foreign countries. 
There was comparatively little foreign travel, and the relations 
between the United States and other countries of the world were 
largely formal. 

I remember the portions of the messages of the President which 
used to be sent there relating to foreign affairs, and they contained 
very 7 little except the formal assurance to Congress of the preservation 
of the relations of friendship, and so forth, between this and other 
countries. 

We have now come to a new era. The progress of internal devel¬ 
opment has reached such a point, and the wealth of the country has 
reached such a point, that American enterprises are pushing out into 
every country. American construction is going on all over the world. 
American trade, American banking, and great American interests are 
being built up in almost every country on earth. 

Of course the foreign travel of the United States has enormously 
increased. Thirty years ago only a few wealthy people went abroad; 
and when anyone did go from one of our smaller communities, when 
he came back he used to describe his travels in letters to the local 
papers. You remember how it used to be? 

Senator Dryden. Very well. 

Secretary Hoot. Now if you go into those same communities all 
over the country, and the thousands that did not then exist, you will 
find it the rule, rather than the exception, that the people who are 
well oft* have traveled abroad. All that travel increases the amount 
of business that is done by our foreign ministers and consuls. That 
increases the correspondence and the amount of work which comes on 
the Department. 

Senator Wetmore. They go in thousands now as organized parties 
at very moderate rates, and travel for three or four months, do they 

not ? . . 

Secretary Root. Yes; and it is not confined to the big cities.. All 
over the country, a very large representation of the whole eighty 
millions of people are traveling all over the world. 


28 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 


Further than that, there is no doubt that the moral force of public 
opinion in the United States is becoming recognized as an element to 
be dealt with in the international councils of the world. It is impos¬ 
sible for us to avoid a certain share in the international affairs of man¬ 
kind. I believe that a certain degree of participation in them, care¬ 
fully avoiding any entanglement in the politics of Europe, and carefully 
avoiding any intermeddling in other people’s business, to be within 
our traditional and just limitations and to be of immense value to man¬ 
kind. There is constant pressure upon our Government to interfere. 

But there are many ways in which the influence of the United States 
can be used in behalf of peace and in the furthering of the principles 
for which the United States has stood during its entire history in 
international affairs. These ways are constantly presenting themselves. 
The participation of the United States in the first Hague conference is 
an illustration. A second Hague conference is about to be called, and 
preliminary steps have been taken. In that conference there will be 
specifically discussed the rights and duties of neutrals and the immunity 
of private property at sea in time of war. 

As to the first, it is of the greatest importance to us, who intend to 
be, and I hope will be so far as it is humanly possible, a neutral nation, 
to have our rights and our duties clearly defined. It narrows the 
causes of war, and we have a vital interest in having them narrowed. 

As to the immunity of private property at sea in time of war, that 
is something which the United States has been endeavoring to bring 
about during the entire period of its history. And so we send a dele¬ 
gation to this second conference at The Hague, as we did to the first. 

The present conference at Algeciras regarding the affairs of Morocco 
is a conference which will result in certain modifications of the con¬ 
vention of 1880, to which we were parties, and in strengthening the 
safeguards which we secured for the United States by the treaties 
made in the very beginning of our history. We necessarily have dele¬ 
gates there. 

There is the greatest activity now among all civilized nations in 
international affairs on various specific subjects. 

There is to be a conference in June next for the revision of the Red 
Cross convention. There has recently been one in Washington of the 
delegates from all the American countries in relation to quarantine and 
sanitary subjects. There is about to be a Pan-American Congress at 
Rio de Janeiro, the third, which was provided for by the second con¬ 
ference held in Mexico in 1901. That is a development or a step in the 
development of the essentials of American policy. There has been a 
postal conference, a medical conference, a patent and trade-mark inter¬ 
national conference, and an immense variety of these meetings, all of 
them tending to do away with the causes of war, to promote the good 
understanding among the nations, and to promote a free interchange of 
commerce. They are the methods by which civilization is promoting 
its own development. 

The enormous activity which has sprung up in all of these ways for 
procuring and promoting peace within recent years has devolved 
immense additional labors upon the State Department, and yet we 
have only 60 per cent of the space originally provided for that Depart¬ 
ment by Congress thirty years ago. 

Senator Wetmore. Space in your building? 


BUILDINGS FOE THE DEPAETMENTS OF THE GOVEENMENT. 29 


Secretary Root. Yes; space in the present building. You can under¬ 
stand that the increase of business, the increased complexity of business, 
and the increase in the number of consuls and of foreign missions, 
bring with it not merely a necessity for so many more clerks doing the 
same thing, but also a necessity for organization and system, which 
necessity, when the business was small, did not exist. An increase in 
business creates a difference in kind. You can do a small business in 
a simple way. To do a great business you have got to have system 
or you will be swamped. We are coming in the State Department 
to a point where we are going to be swamped for lack of proper 
organization, and we can not have a proper organization without having 
room for the men to do their work. 

The records of the Department are in a condition and are handled 
by methods which did very well under simple conditions, but which 
are now wholly inadequate. I want to introduce a new system. I 
want to appty the same methods of dealing with records with.which I 
became familiar and to a certain extent helped to develop‘in the War 
Department. I can not do it because there is no room for the clerks 
to work, or for file cases to be placed and for typewriters to be worked. 
In the meantime we are having to go on by methods which I can best 
illustrate by saying that it is like a country law office having the busi¬ 
ness of a great city law office dumped down on it. 

The Secretary of State has, I think, less than half the room of any 
other Cabinet officer in Washington, and he has no anteroom. 

Senator Dryden. You speak now of his private office. 

Secretary Root. Yes; I have the room which Mr. Hay had. The 
people who come to see me either have to stay out in the hall or else 
are ushered into my room and sit down within 10 feet of me when I 
am talking to somebody else. 1 have recently had scores of interviews 
broken off, which were of importance, with Senators, Members of Con¬ 
gress, other Cabinet officers, with our ministers, our ambassadors, and 
consuls coming here to report, because the messengers had not the 
nerve to keep Senators, Congressmen, and other distinguished citizens 
cooling their heels in the hallway. I had a letter to-day from a gen¬ 
tleman who said that he regretted very much that he was unable to see 
me the other day, on Friday or Saturday; that he only wanted to see me 
for two minutes and he waited an hour and a half and then had to go 
away. That is because there was no anteroom into which I could go and 
see the two-minute people. 

There are a great many Senators and Representatives who come to 
the State Department with constituents, and what the}^ come for is to 
introduce the constituents. They do not want to waste any time about 
it. They do not want more than a minute. 1 have no place to see 
them because I have just this one .room. I may be having an impor¬ 
tant conversation with someone that will take twenty minutes or half 
an hour. In the War Department, as soon as I found there were a 
number of people in the anteroom I would stop the conversation, go 
out and dispose of the one-minute people, let the Senators and Repre¬ 
sentatives introduce their constituents and go their way. I would find 
a dozen people who would want a minute. There might be two or 
three who wanted more time and I would let them wait and take their 
turn, instead of keeping the whole crowd waiting. It is exceedingly 
inconvenient. It is injurious to the public business and it is very un- 


30 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 


dignified; but I know of no way to cure it, because I can not find any 
room, without turning a lot of clerks out of doors, whose services are 
absolutely necessary. My private secretary is now in a room away 
off in a corner, a long distance from me. 

• Of course, with this limited room, we have had to dispose of the 
different branches of our business as best we could. The inconvenient 
arrangement increases the difficulty of doing business by requiring us 
to send papers to and fro while, if properly grouped, they could pass 
from hand to hand without being sent long distances to distant rooms. 
So much for the existing business. Of course it is constantly grow¬ 
ing, and the situation is constantly growing worse. 

There is also a very serious inconvenience and injury coming from 
our total inability to provide for any kind of activity or any kind of 
work. We have no place now in which anybody outside of the regu¬ 
lar force of the Department can do anything. We have recently had 
here the gentlemen who are to be delegates to the Hague conference. 
There was no place for them to meet and confer on the subjects they 
will have to deal with. I think every country in the world has the 
men who are to be their delegates to that conference at work now 
studying the subjects. There was no place for them to work. There 
was not a spot where they could get together. I think they had their 
principal conference at my private house. 

We have recently had the gentlemen together here who are to go to 
Rio to the Rio conference. They spent three da}^s here. I gave them 
the diplomatic anteroom. I made a special arrangement to keep the 
diplomats out of that room for three days while they got their maps, 
books, and material together in order to go over the subjects they 
would have to prepare on. We very much need some place where 
work of that kind can be done. There is a great amount of work in 
the way of preparation which our representatives ought to have an 
opportunity to do here where they have access to the library and 
records of the Department and to the precedents contained in the 
documents. There ought to be some accommodation provided so that 
they will have an opportunity to do that work. 

Then all the other considerable countries provide a place where 
international conferences can be held. Recently the sanitary congress, 
to which I have just alluded, which was held pursuant to a resolution 
passed by the second Pan-American Conference at Mexico, met in 
Washington. We had to get rooms for it in the New Willard Hotel. 

Other countries provide rooms where tribunals of arbitration may 
hold their sessions. We have no means of accommodating them and 
can not accommodate them. If the meeting between the representa¬ 
tives of Japan and Russia, had been held at any other time than in the 
summer, the meeting which led to the peace last August, we would 
have been very much humiliated by having no place at our capital where 
they could meet. As it was in the summer, so that they naturally 
would not come to Washington, it was the natural thing to fit up a hall 
in the navy-yard at Portsmouth for them to meet in. 

Suitable accommodations for meetings of conferences, congresses, 
arbitrations, and arbitration tribunals are a part of the necessary facil¬ 
ities for doing our work in the world, and for doing the things which 
the people of the United States want their Government to do, in 
the interest of commerce, in the interest of the development of inter¬ 
national law, and in the interest of peace and a good understanding 


UUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 31 

among the nations of the earth. We have our duty to perform, and 
our Government is trying to perform it, and although we are among 
the great nations of the earth, we are without the ordinary decent 
facilities for doing our share of the work. 

I have here a blueprint showing, it jou care to look at it, the space 
we have in the present building. In the basement, as you will see, we 
have only a very small area, the rest of it being devoted to the Wa* 
Department and Navy Department. 

Senator Dryden. That looks like a very small section of the base 
ment for your uses? 

Secretary Root. And from that there has been taken off a corner 
for the Navy Department. That is approximately one-third of the 
basement room. On the first floor it is the same. Approximately 
one-third of that has been taken out for the Navy. On the second 
floor we have the whole of the south front and on the third story we 
have the south front. The fourth story and the attic story have beer 
taken away from us for the Army. 

Senator Dryden. Have you made any calculations to show how 
many square feet are allowed to each clerk there? 

Secretary Root. I have not; but I can have it done. Of course 
this is greatly complicated by the continual accumulation of document' 
which require storage. In taking away what was taken from the 
State Department they took 11,000 out of 13,000 square feet of 
storage room. The total storage room in this south wing, in the 
original State Department building, was 13,488 feet, and they have 
taken away and given to the War and Navy Departments 11,420 square 
feet, leaving us 2,068 square feet. When you remember that the 
State Department is the one official depository of the original acts of 
Congress, of the original proclamations of the Presidents, and of 
original Executive orders, and that the Secretary of State is charged 
with the custody of the acts of the Government of the United States, 
it is really an absurdity to treat it as being a negligible Department. 

Senator Dryden. Are these valuable documents protected against 
fire? 

Secretary 7 Root. The building is supposed to be fireproof. 

Senator Dryden. Which means that it is fireproof as buildings 
were in those days ? 

Secretary Root. Yes. 

Senator Dryden. Are there no fireproof vaults for documents? 

Secretary Root. No. Of course there is no department of the 
Government in which it is more important, and 1 doubt if there is any 
department in which it is so important to have continual access to the 
documents which have accumulated in the past history of the country. 
We are constantly engaged in the discussion of questions with foreign 
governments. We can not send a dispatch relating to an international 
question which has a history—and most international questions have 
long histories—without being liable to be confronted with some letter 
that was written by some Secretary of State ten, twenty, fifty, or a 
hundred years ago. If there had been an admission made at any time 
in the history of our country upon any international question which 
is inconsistent with something I say to-day in a dispatch on that sub¬ 
ject it will be brought up against me. 

We are dealing now with the northeastern fisheries question. The 
northeastern fisheries question was the principal subject of discussion 


32 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 


between the negotiators of the treaty of peace with England in 1783, 
the provisional treaty of 1782 and the final treaty of 1783, and it has 
been the subject of discussion, with brief intervals, since that time. 
There is a century and a quarter of diplomatic negotiations and cor- 
respodence on that subject. I can not now carry on the current busi¬ 
ness of the State Department in regard to that subject without knowing 
and having at my hand what has happened during that century and a 
quarter. It is so regarding a great variety of questions. The want 
of a proper system in the preservation and arrangement of documents, 
facilities for consultation and examination, and proper indexing and 
guides to all this mass of material is a most serious handicap in the 
conduct of the current business of the office. It is all a matter calling 
for present knowledge at every turn. 

Now, about the new building. The new building should double the 
space for current work that we have, and it should also have facilities 
for these other things I have spoken of; that is, rooms for persons con¬ 
nected with the diplomatic service, either permanently or tempora¬ 
rily, to do their work in, which can best be done with access to our 
records, our rolls, and our library; rooms for the meeting of congresses 
and conferences, rooms for the meetings of arbitration tribunals, and 
rooms for the proper and dignified reception of the representatives of 
foreign governments. 

A short time ago the commissioners from China came here, and the 
only thing I could do with them was to get rooms at the New Willa d 
Hotel and give them a luncheon there. Fortunately, that hotel had a 
very presentable room, and we were able to give them an entertainment 
which probably satisfied them that they were being treated with proper 
consideration; but in the State Department there were no means of 
receiving them in a manner which they would have regarded as com¬ 
mensurate with and suitable to their dignity. All of these things 
ought to be in the new building. I see no reason why these facilities 
and accommodations should not be furnished in the same building with 
the Department of Justice. 

I do not think it would be wise to try to put three Departments in 
the same building again, for the growth will continue. The growth of 
the United States and the burdens upon the Departments are not going 
to end with us, and if we are going to put up a new building now it 
ought to be erected with due regard to the future. 1 think a build¬ 
ing might be put up for the Department of State and the Department 
of J ustice which would answer for a great many years to come. I dare 
say the time will come in the future when one of those Departments 
would, in the ordinary course of events, have to leave the whole build¬ 
ing to the other; but that is something we can not very well measure. 

I think there is an advantage in putting up a building for two 
Departments, in view of the possibility that fifty or a hundred years 
hence there may be such a growth that one Department would have to 
vacate, and then the building would be available for the remaining 
Department. If you put up a building for ojie Department alone you 
have either got to have a great amount of unused space in it at present, 
and build it much larger than you want to build it considering the 
needs of only one Department, or else the probability will be that in 
the course of years it will become too small for that Department, and 
you will have a useless building on your hands, or our successors will 
have a useless building on their hands. 


BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 33 


Regarding the location of the building: It is very desirable to have 
it as near the Executive offices as practicable. The occasion for con¬ 
sultations between the President and the Secretary of State is constant. 
The great variety of things which the Secretary of State is doing are 
things which the President has to be consulted about. There are a 
great variety of things going on in the other Departments which affect 
foreign relations about which the President wants to consult the Sec¬ 
retary of State, and it would be a very serious inconvenience to have 
the State Department at a distance from the Executive office. 

Senator Dryden. Have you in mind any one, of the two or three 
places mentioned, which you would prefer? 

Secretary Root. I think altogether the best place would be the 
square on the west side of Lafayette Square. On the square east of 
Lafayette Square the new trust company building and the Riggs 
Bank have been recently erected, and I suppose that would be very 
expensive. 

Senator Wetmore. I may say that I had a conversation with Mr. 
George B. Post, architect, of New York, some days ago, while com¬ 
ing over on a train from New York. We were talking about this gen¬ 
eral matter, and he said he thought the west side of the square east of 
Lafayette Park could be used with advantage for a public building and 
produce the effect of a whole front along that square. He thought 
that site would be adequate for a proper building, taking the ground 
the Government now owns, which is the site of the former Department 
of Justice, and also the remaining space between the Government prop¬ 
erty and the H street corner. 

Secretary Root. The square west of Lafayette Square is altogether 
the best place, if you are going to put two Departments in one build¬ 
ing. If you put the State Department and the Department of Justice 
together, the square west of Lafayette Square is the better location. 
Of course the Attorney-General ought to be near the Executive offices. 

Senator Wetmore. He has so stated, in a hearing before us the 
other day. 

Secretary Root. Because he has constant occasion to consult him. 
As it is, the Secretar}^ of the Treasury is on one side and the Secretary 
of War and the Secretary of the Navy on the other side of the White 
House grounds. The Secretary of State and the Attorney-General 
ought to be as near as you can get them to the Executive offices. 

Senator Dryden. Would the noise from the traffic and the cars on 
that street be objectionable? 

Secretary Root. You would have to submit to it. The street is a 
very wide street, and I do not think it would be a serious anno}^ance. 

I should arrange the possible locations in the order of their useful¬ 
ness in this way: 

I should put first square numbered 167, on the west side of Lafayette 
square and north of Pennsylvania avenue. 

I should put second the west half of square numbered 221, which is 
on the east side of Lafayette square and north of Pennsylvania avenue. 

I should put third square numbered 170, lying between F street and 
New York avenue and between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets. 

Senator Wetmore. How about the site in square 226, at Pennsyl¬ 
vania avenue and Fifteenth street, where the Regent Hotel now is? 

Secretary Root. I should put square 226 fourth. 

S. Rep. 8, 60-1-3 


34 BUILDINGS FOE THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

Senator Wetmore. How about the Government reservation in the 
the Mall? 

Secretary Root. I think any location on the Mall is too far from the. 
Executive offices for convenience; but if any location should be taken 
there it should be at the western end, toward the Monument, and on 
the north side. 

Senator Wetmore. I understand you have not at hand the total 
space you are now occupying, and you have not yet considered the 
amount of space it will be necessary for you to have for your pres¬ 
ent occupation. Will you furnish us with that data? 

Secretary Root. I can furnish you with the space we are now occu¬ 
pying. It is contained in this paper, which I will hand to the ste¬ 
nographer. It is headed “Total space in south wing.” That includes 
all the space occupied by the State Department, except that we have 
now some rooms in the Rochambeau Apartment Building, occupied by 
what is called the Reciprocity Bureau, or the office of the Reciprocity 
Commissioner. 

Said paper is as follows: 

Total space in south wing. 



Office 

room. 

Storage 

room. 

Water- 

closets. 

Corri¬ 

dors. 

Library. 

Total. 

’Ra.Kp.mpnt... 

Sq. feet. 

6,014 
7,319 
7,771 
6,101 
3,995 

Sq. feet. 
2,068 
None. 
None. 
None. 
2,106 
9,314 

Sq. feet. 
334 
334 
502 
334 
334 

Sq.feet. 

4,372 

4,926 

4,376 

3,631 

3,520 

720 

Sq.feet. 

Sq. feet. 
12,788 
12,579 
12,649 
12,651 
12,540 
10,034 

First floor. 


Second floor . 


Third floor. 

2,585 

2,585 

Fourth floor. 

At.t.ip. floor. 

Total. 




31,200 

8,209 

13,488 

11,420 

1,838 

334 

21,545 

4,240 

5,170 

73,241 

24,203 

Apportioned to War and Navy Depart¬ 
ments . 

Now occupied by State Department. 


22,991 

2,068 

1,504 

17,305 

5,170 

49,038 


Senator Wetmore. Have you any buildings or rooms under lease? 

Secretary Root. No; none except those at the Rochambeau. The 
Bureau of American Republics does not properly come under the head 
of the State Department. It is a separate institution, organized by 
all the American Republics. The participation of the United States 
in the organization is under a special act of Congress. In the organi¬ 
zation of the Bureau, which is the representative of an international 
union, the Secretary of State is, ex officio, the chairman of the govern¬ 
ing board of the Bureau. 

Senator Wetmore. I find on page 2 of the hearings, on March 20, 
a statement or memorandum printed by the Department of Justice as 
to the office accommodations required. Could you furnish to the sub¬ 
committee a similar statement as to the needs of your Department? 

Secretary Root. Yes; I will do so. 

Senator Wetmore. This subcommittee, on the appointment of the 
chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, has to 
do with a location and a bill for a building for the Department of 
J ustice. In considering the question the subcommittee has found that 
the different squares appear to be too large for one Department, and 
therefore it seemed to them that it might be wise and economical 




























BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 35 


on the part of the Government to have a building in which two Depart¬ 
ments, say the Department of State and the Department of Justice, 
might be put. I understand from what you have already said that you 
see no objection to two Departments going into one building? 

# Secretary Root. I see none. I think such a building could be of a 
size that would naturally call for a number of entrances, so that there 
would be an entrance for the Department of Justice and an entrance 
for the Department of State. 

Senator Wetmore. I may say, personally, that I have a feeling that 
no building in Washington occupied by one or two of the Departments 
should take up less than one square of ground, and that it should not 
be too high, say not more than three, or at the most four, stories. A 
building of that sort would be much more imposing than a building 
on a part of a square or a small building on one square. 

Secretary Root. I think that is a just view to take of the matter. 

Senator Wetmore. And I think the building ought to be of classical 
design. 

Secretary Root. I agree with that. 

Senator Dryden. In that way you can get a building that would be 
dignified and a credit to the Government which would afford ample 
facilities for the transaction of the business of the two Departments, 
and on these extraordinary occasions you have so well described you 
would have every convenience for receiving foreigners that could rea¬ 
sonably be expected. 

Secretary Root. It is a very important subject. It is a subject of 
convenience of administration, by grouping the buildings so that the 
President can have, under his hands, the keys. If the Attorney- 
General and Secretary of State have to come a half or three-quarters 
of a mile to see the President, they have got to abandon their offices 
and frequently have to abandon them at a time when it is most 
important that they should be there. In order to see the President 
they have got to leave the anteroom full of people and keep them 
waiting. When they see the President they have got to see him in 
his time. 

The passage of messengers to and fro between the State Department 
and Executive offices is continuous. The Secretary of State has to 
countersign a very large proportion of the papers which the President 
has to sign. The State Department has to prepare the papers for his 
signature, and messengers are going to and fro all the time. If you 
separate them and put them wide apart it will be exceedingly bad 
policy. As business grows and increases this becomes more and more 
important. The buildings ought to be grouped around the Executive 
Mansion. The business of the country is going to be so enormous 
that eveiy means should be taken to simplify and facilitate the admin¬ 
istration, and that can not be done by scattering these Executive 
Departments all over the city. 

It is probably of less importance to have the Interior and Post-Office 
Departments near the President, because their work is special; but 
the work of these other Departments includes a very large variety of 
subjects affecting the administration of the Government generally, and 
they require more constant intercourse with the President. 

The subcommittee thereupon adjourned. 


36 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 


Appendix B. 


Department of State, 

Washington , March 81 , 1906. 

Sir: I am instructed by the Secretary of State to inform you that the estimated 
floor space which will be required by the Department of State in a new building 
would be approximately 180,000 square feet for net office space, exclusive of corri¬ 
dors, toilet rooms, stairways, elevators, engine rooms, etc. 

It is intended to forward to your committee early next week a detailed report, 
showing the disposition of this space, similar to that of the Attorney-Generel printed 
in the hearings of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, March 20, 1906. 
The Secretary, being compelled to leave the city to-day, is unable to give the matter 
earlier attention. 

Yours, respectfully, Chas. Denby, 

Chief Clerk. 

Hon. George Peabody Wetmore, 

United States Senate. 


Department of State, 

Washington, April 6 , 1906. 

My Dear Senator: By my direction the chief clerk communicated to you on 
Saturday an estimate of approximately 180,000 square feet of net office space required 
by this Department in a new building. 

In amplification of that estimate I now make the following statement, more in 
detail, of the needs of the Department: 

Square feet. 

Secretary’s office, including office proper, private office, anteroom, private 
secretaries’ offices, diplomatic reception room and anteroom, toilet and 


cloak rooms. 8, 000 

Assistant Secretary’s office. 3,000 

Second Assistant Secretary’s office. 3,000 

Third Assistant Secretary’s office. 3,000 

Office of the Solicitors. 3,500 

Chief clerk’s office.. 2,000 

Diplomatic Bureau. 7,500 

Consular Bureau. 7, 500 

Bureau of Indexes and Archives.. 10,000 

Bureau of Accounts... 5,000 

Storage and shipping of stationery (diplomatic and consular service). 6, 000 

Bureau of Rolls and Library. 12, 000 

Bureau of Appointments. 3,500 

Passport Bureau. 2, 000 

Bureau of Trade Relations. 2,000 

Office of the translators. 2,000 

Law clerk’s office... 1, 000 

Mail room. 2,000 

Branch printing office and bindery. 5,000 

Telephone office. 600 

Carpenter’s shop. 1,500 

Lithographer’s shop. 1, 000 

General storage. 15, 000 

Suite for use of international commissions, congresses, etc. 30, 000 


136,100 

Allowance of one-third more for increased needs. 45,367 


Total of net office space required.181,467 


Of course the foregoing estimate, which has been called for very suddenly, is 
largely conjectural, but I do not think it is excessive. Indeed, I am strongly inclined 






























BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 37 


to think that it is an underestimate, when future needs are considered in the light of 
the rapid increase of the work of this Department and its complete outgrowth of the 
accommodations provided less than forty years ago. 

Very truly, yours, 

For the Secretary: 

Robert Bacon 

Hon. George Peabody Wetmore, 


United States Senate. 




Appendix C. 


Department op State, 

Washington , March 28, 1902. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 31, in which 
you request the Secretary of State to advise the Committee on Public Buildings and 
Grounds as to the necessity of additional accommodations for the Department of 
State in a building to be erected upon block 167, Washington, D. C., to be jointly 
occupied with offices of other Departments. 

By direction of the Secretary of State I have caused a careful examination of the 
needs of this Department with respect to space accommodations to be made, with the 
following results: 

The general offices of the Secretary of State and his assistants have long been felt 
to be entirely inadequate for the purpose for which they are intended. At present 
the Secretary of State occupies an office to which there is no anteroom, and in con¬ 
nection with which there is no provision for his private secretary or for private con¬ 
ferences. As a consequence of this deficiency of accommodations, it is impossible to 
carry on private or confidential conversations with Senators, Representatives, or other 
officers of the Government without the danger of constant interruption.. The only 
provision for those who await an interview is the common corridor, where the await¬ 
ing visitor, whether lady or gentleman, must stand in full public view, surrounded 
by the messengers and others moving through the building. 

A mere statement of the existing conditions would seem sufficient without further 
comment. It may, however, be proper to suggest that the proper conduct of the 
business of the Secretary’s office requires, in addition to the main office room, a com¬ 
fortable waiting room, a room for the private secretary, and a retiring room, to which 
the Secretary may withdraw in order to conduct a strictly private conversation and 
•to communicate with his assistants. At present important departmental business may 
be obliged to await its opportunity between the calls of visitors. 

What has just been said of the accommodations provided for the Secretary of State 
is true also of those provided for his three assistants, who, with the subdivision of 
the business of the Department, which is a necessary consequence of its growth, and 
in view of the necessity of receiving large numbers of callers, should be provided 
each with a waiting room, a retiring room, and a room for the private secretary, in 
addition to the principal office room. The most awkward situations have grown out 
of the conditions at present existing, and officers of the Government have been 
obliged to depart without communicating their private business because they could 
not communicate it without giving it publicity. 

The Department contains no provision for the accommodation of international 
conferences or even small commissions, and it is exceedingly difficult to procure in 
Washington suitable rooms for such purposes. The following memorandum by the 
chief clerk regarding a recent endeavor to find suitable quarters for a small commis¬ 
sion sufficiently illustrates the present limitations: 

“Some days ago I was instructed to procure suitable office rooms for the arbitra¬ 
tors of the Salvador Commercial Company’s claim against the Government of Salva¬ 
dor. That portion of the State, War, and Navy Department building allotted to this 
Department is now taxed to its utmost capacity, and the superintendent of the build¬ 
ing informs me that he has at his disposal no unoccupied rooms; hence roomsforthe 
purpose must be sought outside of the building. 

“But the arbitrators will need space for only a few weeks, and no desirable rooms 
in any of the nicer office buildings can be taken for less than six months. The 
result will be that we shall have to be content with inferior rooms in a second-rate 
building, and even these will be hard to find. 



38 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 


“I respectfully suggest that provisions for suites of offices for international com¬ 
missions and the like be made in the scheme now contemplated to provide adequate 
quarters for the Department of State.’’ 

What has been said above relates to the inadequacy of the plan upon which the 
present building is constructed. In addition to this, however, the great develop¬ 
ment of the War and Navy Departments has forced them to encroach from time to 
time upon the space originally designed for the Department of State until now this 
Department is constrained within limits not originally intended to be placed upon it. 

In the meantime, however, this Department has also passed through a period of 
great expansion, the business having nearly doubled, as measured by the dimensions 
of the bound correspondence. Theextreme compression under which all the bureaus 
of the Department are now suffering is made evident from the following statements of 
the chief clerk and the bureau chiefs: 

I. STATEMENT OF THE CHIEF CLERK. 

“In compliance with your request for my judgment as to the necessity for more 
space to meet the requirements of the business of the Department of State, I beg to 
say that the Department needs at least as much again space as it now has for con¬ 
venient and economic performance of its work. 

“ The index bureau alone needs four times the space it now has, and this need 
will grow year by year. At this time there is no space whatever for the proper 
installation of a card-index system, one of the things most needed in the Department 
and for the good of the service. 

“The Department has practically no space for the storage of its publications and 
for the suitable wrapping and mailing of the same. 

“The bureau of rolls and library is so congested that work in that bureau is hin¬ 
dered and highly unsatisfactory both to the Department and to the public. In fact, 
this is true of every bureau in the Department. The attempt to avoid the necessity 
of renting buildings outside by crowding people and material together in the Depart¬ 
ment has resulted in a congestion that is bad for the public service, expensive, 
unhealthful for the employees, and in every sense unbusinesslike. 

“I have had an order from the Secretary to rent a fireproof building outside for 
the purpose of relieving a part of this congestion, but up to this time I have been 
unable to find such an one conveniently located. A suitable building for the storage 
of such overflow as we have would cost in rental more than the Department is able 
to pay without an appropriation from Congress for that purpose. Yet something 
must be done. More space is absolutely necessary. The business of the Department 
has increased at least 80 per cent in the last ten years without any increase of space. 
It is no longer a theoretical question. It is a condition that confronts the Department 
which must be met by a new building or by renting buildings outside.” 

II. STATEMENT OF THE CHIEF OF THE DIPLOMATIC BUREAU. 

“Speaking for the Diplomatic Bureau, I can say we are too crowded and should 
have at least one additional room for clerks, and a case room. In my own room, 
which is not much larger than a good-sized bedchamber, there are three employed 
besides myself. In view of the confidential character of much of the work that 
passes through his hands, for the secrecy of which he is responsible, and the number 
of business visitors who call upon hiin and who interfere with the work of the other 
clerks in the room, the Chief of the Diplomatic Bureau should have a room to him¬ 
self. 

“Block 167 is a large one, but I doubt the advisability of placing three Executive 
Departments in one building. It would be only a question of time when the history 
of the State, War, and Navy building would be repeated. At one time the State 
Department had the entire south wing of the present building. By degrees one 
whole floor and portions of two others have been taken from it.” 

III. STATEMENT OF THE CHIEF OF THE CONSULAR BUREAU. 

“The Consular Bureau, as at present organized, occupies four rooms. To organize 
the Bureau so as to transact its business in a proper manner, in the proposed new 
building for this Department, I recommend the following: 

“One room for the Chief of the Bureau. 

“One smaller room for a waiting room. 

“One room lor library and maps. 


BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 39 

“Three large rooms for the clerical force. 

^One smaller room for the mail clerk, making seven rooms in all. 

“The rooms should be well lighted, be provided with as much wall space and as 
many shelved closets as practicable, and each room, exclusive of the library, should 
have a lavatory. 

“The waiting room is very necessary for the purpose of relieving the Chief of the 
Bureau from interruptions which materially interfere with the prompt discharge of 
his duties. Besides, many interviews with the Chief of the Bureau are confidential 
and should not be conducted in the presence of disinterested persons. 

“The room to be used as library and map room and as a depository for manuscript 
reports, etc., is greatly needed, in order that all these books of reports may be 
brought together in one place where they can be more conveniently consulted. 

“It is very desirable that the typewriters should occupy a room separate from 
persons employed in investigating and drafting correspondence, and with this in 
view, and allowing for the increase which must necessarily take place in the clerical 
force, an additional room for this force should be provided. 

“If examinations of consular officers are to be conducted by the Bureau, it w T ould 
be very desirable to have still another room for this purpose. It is hardly fair to the 
applicants or to the Government to have these examinations take place in the work¬ 
ing rooms of the Bureau, where maps hang in full view, and where questions to 
which the examinations relate are apt to be discussed in the hearing of the person 
under examination by the clerks in the performance of their duties. 

“ Including the room for examinations, a total number of eight rooms appears to be 
necessary for this Bureau.” 

IV. STATEMENT OF THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF INDEXES AND ARCHIVES. 

“Until we have a new building with abundant space there can be no systematic 
businesslike arrangement of the archives of this Department and no satisfactory 
distribution of the clerical force. 

“The rooms of this Bureau are at present scattered on three floors, which results 
in inconvenience, delays, and loss of time. Many of the clerks have to work in 
small alcoves with discomfort and loss of time, because they are interrupted when 
records are wanted from those alcoves, which is constantly the case. 

“The archives are, of course, constantly increasing, and to shelve what we already 
have it became necessary to build cross cases in the rooms and erect other cases in 
the corridor, which causes much inconvenience and loss of time. These cases are 
all full now, and new space can be found only by occupying the walls of the corridor. 

“A new building is absolutely necessary for the proper conduct of this Bureau, 
and without it there will continue to be many inconveniences, delays, and loss of 
much time; that is, of Government money.” 

V. STATEMENT OF THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF ACCOUNTS. 

“Speaking for the Bureau of Accounts, I can say that the rooms allotted its use are 
inadequate for properly conducting the business of the same. The passport division 
and stationery division, both connected with this Bureau, are very much crowded 
and also have not sufficient room for handling the business connected with each. 
The files of the passport division, which are complete from the inception of the 
department, and therefore valuable, take up considerable of the available space for 
filing purposes, and the question of room for future files is a question of concern. 

“Coming to the Bureau proper, and that which its name implies, Bureau of 
Accounts, it is charged with the examination and preparation for settlement of the 
diplomatic and consular accounts, and all other accounts connected with the finan¬ 
cial business of the Department and commission under its control, as well as the 
disbursement of the various appropriations under the control of the Secretary of State, 
also the trust funds of the Department, which are a large item. In disposing of the 
business that comes to this Bureau a large amount of detail work is required, and to 
those acquainted with the facts it is recognized that the Bureau has not sufficient 
room to handle the business at all times as promptly as might be desired. In addi¬ 
tion to not having sufficient room for the clerical force of the Bureau, the question 
of storage space for the files is now one of much concern.” 

VI. STATEMENT OF THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF ROLLS AND LIBRARY. 

“There can be no question of the pressing necessity for additional accommoda* 
tions—such a need has been uncomfortably realized for fifteen years or more. 


40 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 


“Many thousands of volumes belonging to the library and indispensable to the 
Department are permanently piled up in the cages in the corridor on this door. The 
newspaper files which the Department felt constrained some years ago to retain as 
essential to the performance ot its business from among many others sent then to 
the Library of Congress are kept in the cellar in a damp room, and many very val¬ 
uable documents belonging to the Department and in the custody of this Bureau are 
similarly deposited, while the entire original records of the two Alabama Claims 
Commissions are stored in wooden cases in the mail room of the Department in the 
basement, where they surely do not belong, greatly to their danger and to the incon¬ 
venience of this office. Meanwhile space here in the offices of the Bureau proper is 
altogether inadequate to the safe and convenient care of its invaluable records—the 
treaties of the United States with other powers, the laws of the United States, proc¬ 
lamations and Executive orders of the Presidents, the Revolutionary archives, and 
countless records of international claims commissions, and the confusion becomes 
daily, of course, more discouraging. There is no more space for cases anywhere. 

“If my opinion is required respecting the site, etc., of any new building proposed 
to meet the existing situation here, I think the building should be centrally located 
and easily accessible; but I do not believe that one building should be erected to 
accommodate ‘the principal executive offices, the Department of State, and the 
Department of Justice,’ but that each should be separately housed and this building 
be left for the accommodation of the two military departments.” 

VII. STATEMENT OF THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF FOREIGN COMMERCE. 

“So far as this Bureau is concerned, the need for additional space is confined at 
present to the room occupied by the storage and mailing department. This room 
has been badly crowded for sometime. Should the Bureau continue to be attached 
to the State Department, its growth will doubtless necessitate additional space for 
clerical force and library within a very few years.” 

VIII. STATEMENT OF THE CHIEF OF BUREAU OF APPOINTMENTS. 

“I have the honor to say that there should be two additional rooms provided for 
the Bureau, one for the files and one for the chief. We at present occupy only one 
room, with the walls covered by cases 1£ feet deep, and containing three large desks, 
a table 10 feet long, a typewriter table, a press copying stand, a bookcase, a large case 
for the great seal, and a washstand. We are so crowded that there is barely room 
enough to pass bet ween the desks, and we have three large cases of files in the adjoin¬ 
ing room which contain papers that must be consulted from time to time. The con¬ 
venience which would result from consolidating the files in one room is apparent, and 
the business confided to the chief of the Bureau is of such a confidential nature that 
it should not be subjected to the possibility of exposure to visitors, and he should be 
provided with a separate room.” 

The foregoing statements show clearly the great and pressing needs of this Depart¬ 
ment for additional accommodations. 

With regard to the proposition for the Department of State to occupy a building 
to be erected upon block 167, Washington, D. C., jointly with the Chief Executive 
offices and the offices of the Department of Justice, it may be said that it is doubtful 
if the amount of space in question would be adequate for the accommodation of all 
the offices included in this proposition. While there would be great convenience in 
the juxtaposition of the offices of the Department of State with those of the Chief 
Executive, it is doubtful if the building could be so planned as to include the three 
Departments named without imposing limitations upon all which would be soon 
outgrown. 

It is probable that two Departments would require all the space contained in such 
a building as could be erected on block 167. It should here be mentioned that ample 
provision should be made for the ever-increasing archives of this Department under 
the same roof with its general offices. The storage of the diplomatic correspondence 
in a hall of records, to be located at some distance from the Department, would greatly 
embarrass the business of the Department, it having constantly to refer to its files of 
correspondence, which must be close at hand and so arranged as to be immediately 
accessible. This last consideration is of great importance, as the archives will be 
always increasing in volume, and ample provision should be made for the future. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

David J. Hill, Acting Secretary . 

Senator Charles W. Fairbanks, 

United States Senate, Washington, D. C, 


buildings for the departments of the government. 41 


Department op Justice, 
Washington , D. C., February 4 , 1902. 

Sm: Your letter of the 31st ultimo asks me, on behalf of the Committee on Public 
Buildings and Grounds, for any information I may be able to give it “as to the 
necessity of additional accommodations for the Department of Justice, and as to 
the advisability of accommodating the Department in a building to be devoted to the 
Chief Excutive offices, the Department of State, and the Department of Justice, 
the same to be erected upon block 167, Washington, D. C.,” and I reply to the two 
points in the order given: 

First. As to the necessity for additional accommodations. As to this, I think noth¬ 
ing more is required than has already been said, unless I say in addition to what was 
presented to Congress at the time the original bill for the erection of a new building 
was under consideration, that at the time temporary quarters were provided for the 
Department of Justice and its old building torn down, it was supposed that the erec¬ 
tion of a new building would be begun within a reasonable period. Since then, 
however, it was found necessary to relieve the crowded condition of the temporary 
quarters by renting the building adjoining that occupied by the Department on K 
street NW., known as 1000 Vermont avenue, as well as a suite of rooms in the Bond 
Building. With these additions the quarters now occupied by the Department will 
probably be sufficient to accommodate it until the proposed new building can be 
erected. 

Second. As to the advisability of accommodating the Department in a building to 
be occupied by the chief executive offices, the Department of State, and the Depart¬ 
ment of Justice, to be erected upon block 167, I say that it woujd greatly facilitate 
the transaction of public business to have the Department of Justice so close to the 
Executive offices and the Department of State, with both of which it has occasion to 
communicate frequently. The proposed site is as convenient of access to the Treas¬ 
ury, War, and Navy departments, with which the Department of Justice is also 
obliged to be in constant communication, as that in which the site of the former 
Department building is located on the east side of Lafayette Square. It seems evi¬ 
dent, also, that it should be cheaper to erect one building of the proper character in 
which to house these three Departments than to build three buildings of the same 
character, though smaller, to accommodate them separately. 

Respectfully, 

P. 0. Knox, Attorney-General . 

Hon. Charles W. Fairbanks, 

Chairman Committee ok Public Buildings and Grounds , United States Senate 


42 BUILDINGS FOB THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT, 


Appendix D. 

Department of Commerce and Labor, 

Office of the Secretary, 
Washington, March 18, 1906. 

My Dear Sir: In the limited time at my disposal I have obtained approximate 
figures as to the probable size and cost of a building for the housing of this Depart¬ 
ment and its several bureaus and now submit them for consideration. 

The gross floor space at present occupied by the Department entire comprises 
328,284 square feet, exclusive of the Bureau of Standards, which is entirely omitted 
from this consideration. The Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Bureau of Fish¬ 
eries at present occupy Government buildings. These two Bureaus occupy approxi¬ 
mately 100,000 square feet of floor area, which would of course, be available for the 
use of other Departments of the Government upon the erection of a Department 
building sufficiently large to permit their removal thereto. If considered advisable, 
these Bureaus might continue in their present quarters, although the full benefit and 
economy of administration would not be fully met in such an event. 

The Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Manufactures do not at present occupy 
all of the space in the Emery Building, as the force in the Bureau of the Census is 
now at its minimum, but during the taking of the Thirteenth Census, preparation 
for which will begin within the next two years, it will be necessary not only to occupy 
the equivalent of all the space available in the Emery building, but it is estimated 
that 125,000 square feet additional will be necessary. 

With the exception of the Bureau of the Census, the quarters occupied by the 
Department are seriously overcrowded, and in several of the building the hallways 
are used for files, storage purposes, blueprinting, and even as quarters for clerks and 
other employees engaged upon desk work, while two Bureaus are using basement 
space by courtesy of landlords. The Department is without any room for the use of 
committees and boards which meet annually. Doors have been removed, portions 
of halls partitioned off, and old furniture has been replaced in some cases by new 
and more compact desks and cases in the endeavor to make present quarters meet 
requirements. 

Estimate A shows the calculation upon which is based the size of a Department 
building sufficient for the accommodation of all of the bureaus with the exception 
of the Bureau of Standards, and large enough to permit of the increased work of the 
Thirteenth Census being performed without the necessity of renting additional quar¬ 
ters. After the completion of the Thirteenth Census the space thus vacated would 
afford a chance for the natural growth of the present bureaus of the Department. 
No consideration has been given in these estimates of the addition to this Department 
of new bureaus nor to extraordinary increase in the size of the present bureaus. 

A very rough and hasty calculation has been obtained from the Office of the Super¬ 
vising Architect as to the cost of a building giving the desired amount of floor space. 
(See Estimate B.) These figures are to be taken as only the roughest approximation. 

I also inclose a table giving some comparative figures of the size and cost of a few 
representative private and public buildings in this city, with a column showing the 
size of each building as compared with the Department building as calculated in 
Estimate A. On this same sheet is given the approximate number of employees in 
the public buildings mentioned. There is also inclosed a rough sketch showing the 
approximate shape and area of squares Nos. 226 and 227, upon which a Department 
building of the size mentioned would occupy the entire space with the exception of 
a strip of parking of an average width of 12 feet, around the entire building, the build¬ 
ing itself being four stories and basement in height, and extending over the present 
location of E street which necessarily would be obliterated at this point. 

******* 

Should it be considered advisable at the present time to erect a Government building 
for the housing of the renting bureaus of the Department only, instead of providing 
for the larger building before mentioned, the calculation given in Estimate C shows 
the size of building which would be necessary for that purpose, and also a rough calcu¬ 
lation of the cost, figured upon the same basis as the larger building. This smaller 
building would accommodate the present bureaus occupying rented quarters, leaving 
the C<yist and Geodetic Survey, the Bureau of Fisheries, and the Bureau of Standards 
in their present buildings and making no provision whatever for increased force in 
the Bureau of the Census nor for any increase beyond the expansion immediately 
and imperatively necessary at present. No allowance is made for even the natural 
growth of the Department during the erection of a building. 


buildings for the departments of the government. 43 


In other words, Estimate A shows what the Department should have for a proper 
concentration of its work and personnel during the next few years, while Estimate C 
shows the size of building needed at the present moment for the snug housing 
of those portions of the Department that are now paying rent. 

. The Department does not express any choice as to location of a building, but con¬ 
siders that the building properly should be located on the south side of Pennsylvania 
avenue at some point between the Treasury Building and the Botanical Gardens. 

On page 54 of my last annual report I called attention to the necessity for providing 
a building large enough to accommodate the various bureaus and offices of the Depart¬ 
ment now occupying rented buildings, showing that the present quarters are dis¬ 
tributed over a distance miles long east and west and about one-third of a mile 
north and south, for which the Department is now paying a rental of over $53,000. 

In my report I estimated that if the Department could be consolidated in one 
building at a rental of say $100,000, not only would better administration ensue, but 
the saving in the cost of administration would be more than the increase in the 
amount of rental, and thus an actual saving would be made by the change. This 
would, of course, hold true in still larger measure in the case of the erection of 
a Government building for the Department. 

Very truly, yours, V. H. Metcalf, Secretary, 

Hon. N. B. Scott, United States Senate. 


Estimate A .—Space occupied by Department at present. 

[Net size of buildings, exclusive of light shafts, areaways, sheds not inclosed, etc.] 


Rented buildings: Square feet. 

Willard Building. 42, 300 

Bureau of Labor .. 13, 791 

Bureau of Statistics. 11, 307 

Builders’ Exchange Building. 19, 820 

Bureaus of Census and Manufactures. 136, 869 

Storage, E street warehouse. 4,000 


Government buildings: 

Bureau of Fisheries (exclusive of car shed and pools). 22,839 

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 77,358 

-100,197 


Total now occupied. 328,284 


Increase absolutely needed to relieve present overcrowding and for two 


years’ ordinary growth (50 per cent of present space). (This makes no 
allowance for new bureaus or for extraordinary growth of present bureaus). 164,142 
Additional space necessary for increased force during taking of Thirteenth 
Census. 125, 000 

Total floor space needed for actual use of Department two years from 
date, without allowance for new bureaus or exceptional increase in 
present bureaus, and excluding the Bureau of Standards and De¬ 
partment stables.617,426 















44 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

The following diagram shows the number of stories necessary to give this floor 
space in a building erected on the designated plats: 



E 


Assessed area, 70,449 square feet. 


D street. 


*1 

o 

a 


73,554 Using both squares and E street will permit a building five stories high, with strip 

32,580 of parking averaging about 12 feet wide around building. 

70,449 All figures eicept assessed area are approximate. 


176,583 







buildings for the departments of the government. 45 


Estimate B. — Rough estimate of cost. 

[By Supervising Architect’s office.] 

Building 450 by 350 feet, basement and four stories, 25 per cent interior 

light spaces: 

If a steel-frame, commercial type of building, fireproof, stone and 


brick construction. . . $4,000,000 

If granite-faced modern type of Government building. 6, 500, 000 

If limestone instead of granite. 6,000,000 


These figures were given on the spur of the moment by a computer in the Super* 
vising Architect’s office, and are to be taken as the roughest approximations. 


Estimate C. — Estimate of building to house renting bureaus only. 


Present space: Square feet 

Willard building. 42,300 

Bureau of Labor. 13, 791 

Bureau of Statistics. 11, 307 

Builders’ Exchange Building. 19, 820 

Bureaus of Census and Manufactures. 136, 869 

Storage, E street warehouse. 4,000 


Total rented space now occupied.. 228,087 

Increase necessary to relieve present overcrowding, but making no allow¬ 
ance in growth of the Department (25 per cent increase on above exclusive 
of Bureaus of the Census and Manufactures). 22, 805 


Total floor space needed for present use of renting bureaus, excluding 
Bureau of Standards, Bureau of Fisheries, Coast and Geodetic Sur¬ 
vey, and making no allowance for the growth of the Department.. 250, 892 
Allowance for interior light shafts necessary in any large building, at least 
25 per cent increase. 62,723 


Ground space of building needed (on basis of one floor) .. 313,615 

Ground area covered by building four stories and basement high, 62,723. 

Or, for example, a building 300 by 210 feet, four stories and basement high. 

Rough estimate of cost (building 300 by 210 feet, basement and four 
stories, 25 per cent interior light spaces): 

If a steel frame, commercial type of building, fireproof, stone and 


brick construction. ..$1, 600, 000 

If granite-faced modern type of Government building. 2, 560, 000 

If limestone instead of granite. 2, 300, 000 


The different estimates of cost is for building only, and does not include cost of 
site. 

Comparison of buildings. 



Cost. 

Approximate 

size. 

Number of stories. 

Approxi¬ 

mate 

square 

feet. 

Walsh Building. 

"Rrmrl 

$180,000 
400,000 
700,000 
2,000,000 
2,600,000 
6,127,465 

10,038,482 
b 3,100,000 

85 x 55 
a 150 x 115 
125 x 120 
a300 x 90x 130 
300 x 205 
466 x 260 

466 x 260 
a 476 x 470 
N.J. Bst. 

7 and basement... 
.do. 

37,000 

111,800 

135,000 

300,000 

500,000 

666,380 

666,380 

Colorado Building. 

Willard Hotel. 

Post-Office Department. 

Treasury Department. 

State, War, and Navy. 

House Office Building. 

9. 

11 and basement.. 
8£and basement.. 

4, basement and 
attic. 

5, some attic. 

3 and basement... 


Ratio to 
Depart¬ 
ment 
build¬ 
ings. 






a Irregular shape. 


6 Estimated. 












































46 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 


Approximate square feet calculated for comparison by multiplying ground area by number 

of stories. 


Officials and employees housed: 

State, War, and Navy building (during Spanish-American war, 3,100) — 1,925 


Treasury Department building.2, 000 

Post-Office Department (4£ floors). 900 to 1,000 


Appendix E. 

Statement of buildings rented within the District of Columbia for the use of the Government 

for the fiscal year ending June 30 , 1906. 

BUILDINGS RENTED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT IN WASHINGTON. 


Location of building. 

For what purpose used. 

Annual 

rental. 

No. 1518 L street NW . 

Stables for State Department. 

$720.00 
180.00 

Rear No. 1523 K street NW__ 

.do. 

Total. 


900.00 




BUILDINGS RENTED BY THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT IN WASHINGTON. 


No. 1709 New York avenue NW. 

No. 400 Nineteenth street NW. 

Third and fourth floors, and two sections on 
fifth floor, Nos. 920 and 922 E street NW. 
Third floor (and one room on fourth floor), 
Star Building, Eleventh street and Penn¬ 
sylvania avenue NW. 

Fifth and sixth floors, Union Building, G street, 
between Sixth and Seventh streets NW. 


Photographic and other purposes.. 
Treasury stables and storage rooms 
Storage of documents and records . 


S3,000.00 
1,200.00 
8,000.00 


Offices Life-Saving Service 


3,600.00 


Offices Auditor for the Post-Office Depart¬ 
ment. 


14,500.00 


Total 


30,300.00 


ROOMS RENTED BY THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 


No. 1317 F street, American National Bank 
Building, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and 
ninth floors, four rooms on the fourth floor, 
one room on the third floor, five rooms on 
the second floor; also the entire cellar (in¬ 
cluding heating, watchman, elevator, and 
water service, estimated as equal to $4,600 
per annum). 

Basement of building, No. 1334 F street NW... 

Interstate Commerce Commission. 

$12,960.00 

1,200.00 




Total. 


14,160.00 




BUILDINGS RENTED BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT IN WASHINGTON. 


No. 1729 New York avenue NW. 

No. 532 Seventeenth street NW. 

No. 1744 G street NW. 

No. 610 Seventeenth street NW. 

No. 1814 G street NW. 

No. 1800 F street NW. 

No. 1712 G street NW. 

Nos. 920 and 922 E street NW.; section A, fifth 
story, and a section of office on the first floor. 


War Department and Bureau Offices 

Depot Quartermaster’s Office. 

Ordnance and Signal Offices.. 

Military Secretary’s Office. 

Surgeon-General’s Office.. 

Bureau of Insular Affairs.. 

Military Secretary’s Office. 

Bureau of Insular Affairs. 


$7,200.00 
2,500.00 
2,500.00 
1,500.00 
1,000.00 
720.00 
800. 00 
2,100.00 


Total 


18,320.00 



























































BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 47 


Statement of buildings rented within the District of Columbia for the use of the Government 
for the fiscal year ending June SO, 1906 —Continued. 

BUILDING RENTED BY THE NAVY DEPARTMENT IN WASHINGTON. 


Location of building. 

For what purpose used. 

Annual 

rental. 

Mills Building, corner Pennsylvania avenue 
and Seventeenth street NW. 

Annex for the purposes of the various 
bureaus, Hydrographic Office, Naval 
Dispensary, Navy Pay Office, Headquar¬ 
ters U. S. Marine Corps, General Board, 
Board of Inspection and Survey, and 
the Naval Examining and Retiring 
Board. 

$24,500.00 


BUILDINGS RENTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR IN WASHINGTON. 


Building, northwest corner Eighth and E 
streets NW. 

Building, northeast corner Eighth and G 
streets NW 

Building, No. 1828 F street NW.. 

First and second floors of building in rear of 
Nos. 1310 and 1312 F street NW. 

Building in rear of Nos. 1320 and 1322 F street 
NW. 


Civil Service Commission 

Bureau of Education. 

Geological Survey. 

_do. 

-do. 


Two upper floors of building in rear of sublots 
29 and 34, square 254. 

Basement of building No. 1328 F street NW ... 

Building on right of lot 17, square 254. 

Five floors of new addition to Hooe Building . 

Five floors above first floor, last addition to 
the Hooe Building. 

Three upper floors of the Union Building, G 
street, between Sixth and Seventh streets 
NW. 

North half basement of the Union Building, 
G street, between Sixth and Seventh streets, 
NW. 

Citizens’ National Bank, Fifteenth street N W. 


do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do.1. 

Patent Office, for the storage of models 


Secretary’s Office, for the storage of docu¬ 
ments. 

United States Pension Agency. 


84,500.00 

4,000.00 

10,000.00 
2,000.00 

3,200.00 

1 , 200.00 

1,000 

5,000 

6,000 

5,000 

19,500 


800 


2,500 


Total 


64,700 


BUILDINGS RENTED BY THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 


Union Building, G street, between Sixth and 
and Seventh streets NW. 

No. 1413 F street NW.. 

Fourth and East Capitol streets. 

No. 716 Four-and-a-half street SW. 

No. 1413 Park street. 

Anacostia. 

Twenty-fourth street NE, between Cincinnati 
and Detroit streets. 

Bunker Hill road and Ninth street NE (Brook- 
land). 

Carroll avenue and Blair road (Takoma Park). 

Benning. 

Nos. 611 and 613 E street NW. 

No. 710 E street NW. 

Nos. 918-920 E street NW. 

Nos. 479 and 481 C street NW. 

Alley, between Four-and-a-half and Sixth 
streets, C and Louisiana avenue. 

Alley, between L and M, Sixteenth and Sev¬ 
enteenth streets NW. 


Station G, city post-office 


*183,500.00 


Station C, city post-office . 
Station B, city post-office. 
Station D, city post-office. 
Station F, city post-office. 
Station H, city post-office. 
Station K, city post-office 


*2,000.00 
*1,480.00 
*850.00 
*§1,380.00 
*§300.00 
*§ 200.00 


Brookland station, city post-office 


*§200.00 


Takoma Park station, city post-office — 

Benning station, city post-office. 

Division of post-office supplies. ; — 

Part of division of post-office supplies, 
and rural free delivery. 

Storage of files. 

Mail-bag repair shop. 

Blacksmith shop for mail-bag repair shop 


*§240.00 
*§200.00 
4,000.00 
7,000.00 

ff3,000.00 
*5,000.00 
*96.00 


Stable 


300.00 


Total 


29,746.00 


* Paid out of appropriation for postal service, 
f Including equipment and heat. 

§ Including heating and lights. 

■f Including heat, lights, elevator, and janitor service. 
































































48 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT 


Statement of buildings rented within the District of Columbia for the use of the Government 
for the fiscal year ending June 80 f 1906 —Continued. 

BUILDINGS UNDER RENTAL AND OCCUPIED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 


Location of building. 


No. 200-202 Fourteenth street SW 


For what purpose used. 


Annual 

rental. 


Bureau of Chemistry laboratories and of- 


$2,500.00 


No. 206 Fourteenth street SW. 

No. 1362 B street SW. 

No. 1358 B street SW. 

No. 212-214 Thirteenth street SW. 

No. 208-210 Thirteenth street SW. 

Atlantic Building, No. 930 F street NW 

No. 913 E street NW. 

No. 1306 B street SW. 


No. 201 Thirteenth street SW . 

No. 1308 B street SW.. 

No. 224 Twelfth street SW. 

No. 207i Thirteenth street SW 
No. 205 Thirteenth street SW 
No. 203 Thirteenth street SW 
No. 207 Thirteenth street SW 
No. 209 Thirteenth street SW 
No. 1316 B street SW. 

No. 215 Thirteenth street SW 
No. 904 B street SW. 

Total 


flees. 

Bureau of Chemistry, storage rooms. 

Bureau of Animal Industry, laboratories 
and offices. 

Bureau of Animal Industry, offices. 

Bureau of Soils, laboratories and offices.... 

Bureau of Soils, offices. 

Bureau of Forestry, offices. 

Bureau of Forestry, storage purposes. 

Bureau of Plant Industry, Vegetable Pa¬ 
thological Investigations, laboratories 
and offices. 

Bureau of Plant Industry, offices. 

Bureau of Plant Industry, offices. 

Botanical Investigations, laboratories and 
offices. 

Pomological Investigations, offices. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

Grass and Forage Plant Investigations, 
offices. 

Division of Publications, document rooms. 
Bureau of Entomology, offices. 


300.00 
1,800.00 

600.00 
1,320.00 
2,600.00 
13,198.60 
270.00 
3,000.00 


360.00 
360.00 
3,000.00 

420.00 
360.00 
420. 00 
420.00 
420.00 
1,500.00 

5,000.00 
720.00 


38,568.60 


ROOMS RENTED BY DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR IN WASHINGTON. 


Willard Building, 513-515 Fourteenth street, 
NW. 

Emery Building, northwest corner of First 
and B streets, NW. 

National Safe Deposit Building, corner of New 
York avenue and Fifteenth street (in part). 

Builders’ Exchange Building, 719-721 Thir¬ 
teenth street, NW. (in part). 

Adams Building, 1333-1335 F street, NW. (in 
part). 

1137-1139 Seventeenth street, NW. 

Main building of Department. 

$11,830.00 

22,080.00 

6,750.00 

7,600.00 

4,039.80 

1,200.00 

Bureau of the Census. 

Bureau of Labor. 

Light-House Board, Steamboat-Inspection 
Service, Bureau of Navigation. 

Bureau of Statistics. 

Stables . 

Total. 


53,499.80 




BUILDINGS REN 1 ED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IN WASHINGTON. 


No. 1000 Vermont avenue. 

For records, offices, and business of the De¬ 
partment. 

$6,500.00 

10,000.00 
2,100.00 
1,800.00 

2,400.00 
3.000.0C 

Baltic Building, 1433 K street NW. 

No. 8 Jackson square. 


Bond Building,*14th and New York avenue, 
rooms 708 to 717, inclusive. 

No. 1439 K street NW. 

.do. 

• 

No. 1411 H street NW. 

For the records, offices, and business of the 
Spanish Claims Commission. 

Total. 

25,800.00 









































































buildings for the departments of the government. 49 

Statement of buildings rented within the District of Columbia for the use of the Government 
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1906 —Continued. 

BUILDINGS RENTED BY THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 


Location of building. 


For what purpose used. 


District Building.. 

Police station, Anacostia, D. C. 

Stable for Health Department, 219-221 Jack- 
son Hall alley. 

Vault in premises Nos. 228-232 First street NW 
Police Department, No. 470 Louisiana avenue 
NW. 


Executive and miscellaneous 

_do. 

-do. 

_do. 

_do. 


Harper Building, 467 C street N W., four rooms. 

House of Detention. 

Premises in rear of 458 Louisiana avenue NW 

Premises in rear of 921 D street NW. 

Columbia building, Insurance Department, 
five rooms. 

Temporary Home, ex-Union soldiers and sail¬ 
ors, No. 106 Third street N W. 

No. 458 Louisiana avenue NW., two rooms ... 

Wharf, foot of Third street SE. 

Property yard, lots 50 and 54, square 750. 

Room rear 419 Third street NW. 

No. 407 Fifteenth street NW. (temporary police 
court). 

Part square east of square 510. 


do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 


Annual 

rental. 


89,000.00 
480.00 
360.00 

600.00 
2,400.00 

360. 00 
900. 00 
120.00 
240.00 
840.00 

600.00 

360.00 
600.00 
7.77 
48.00 
2,400.00 

120.00 


Total for executive and miscellaneous 


Business High School, Nos. 228-232 First street 
NW. 


Public schools 


Miner Building, Seventeenth and Madison 
streets NW 

Nos. 607 and 609 O street NW. 

Nos. 624 and 626 O street NW. 

Blair Annex, corner Eighth and I streets NE. 
Peabody Annex, 646 Massachusetts avenue 
NE. 

Repair shop, Nos. 11 and 13 D street NW. 

Premises Bunker Hill road, East Brookland . 

No. 730 Twenty-fourth street NW. 

Masonic Temple, Anacostia, D. C., 2 rooms— 

No. 494 Maryland avenue SW., 2 rooms. 

No. 212 H street NW., second floor.. 

No. 1120 Twentieth street NW. 

Garfield Hall, Garfield, D. C. 

No. 1017 Twelfth street NW., eleven months... 

No. 3222 0 street NW. 

No. 1303 H street NE., nine and one-half 
months, 1 room. 

No. 1200 Twenty-ninth street NW., 5 rooms, 
nine and one-half months. 

No. 1245 G street NE., eight and one-half 
months. 

Premises corner Brightwood avenue and Flint 
street, 1 room. 


do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 


Total for public schools 


National Guard Armory, Center Market. 

Washington Light Infantry Armory. 

True Reformer’s Building, basement and office 
rooms. 

Rooms in the Evening Star building. 

Armory, 1406 D street NW. 

Rifle range, Hillsdale, D. C. 


Militia 

_do 

... .do 

_do 

_do, 

_do 


Total for militia 


19,435. 77 


2,625.00 

2,500.00 

912.00 
1,450.00 
900.00 
696.00 

600.00 
300. 00 
720.00 
440.00 
360.00 
840. 00 
318.00 
165.00 
1,100.00 
360.00 

142.50 

237.50 


170.00 
300.00 


15,136.00 


8,000.00 
1,200.00 
1.150.00 

2,100.00 
1,200.00 
550.00 


14,200. 00 


Grand total of rent for the District of Co¬ 
lumbia. 


48,771.77 


S. Rep. S, 60-1-1 













































































































50 BUILDINGS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT, 


Statement of buildings rented within the District of Columbia for the use of the Government 
for the fiscal year ending June SO, 1906 —Continued. 

RECAPITULATION. 


Department. 

Amount. 

State Department. 

$900.00 
30,300.00 
18,320.00 
24,500.00 
64,700.00 
29,746. 00 
38,568.60 

Treasury Department_ 

War Department. 

Navv Department. 

Interior Department.. 

Post-Office Department... 

Department of Agriculture.. 



Department. 

Amount. 

Department of Commerce and Labor. 
Department of Justice. 

$53,499.80 
25,801.00 
48,771.77 
14,160.00 

District of Columbia. 

Interstate Commerce Commission. 

Total. 

349,266.17 



Appendix F. 

Cost of some of the principal sites and of buildings erected by the Government outside of 

Washington. 


Building and location. 

Cost. 

Cost of site. 

Post-office, custom-house, etc., Chicago, Ill. 

$4,421,155. 54 
4,221,824.40 
5,081,976. 70 
5, 686,854. 68 
8,549,832. 63 
5,088,382. 35 
4,623,943.49 

$1,259,385.65 
Ceded by citv. 
$1,329,097. 68 
368,882. 65 
508,585. 25 
708,026. 00 
1,673, 867. 77 

% 

Custom-house and post-office, New Orleans, La. 

Post-office and subtreasury, Boston, Mass .. 

Custom-house and post-office, St. Louis, Mo. 

Court-house and post-office, New York, N. Y. 

Custom-house and post-office, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Post-office and court-house, Philadelphia, Pa. 



Note. —The new custom-house building at New York, N. Y., now in course of construction, is pro 
vided for by Congress at a limit of cost of $4,500,000. The site in addition to this cost $2,244,977.52. 

Cost of the principal buildings, with their sites, erected by the Government in Washington 


Building. 

Cost. 

Cost of site. 

Capitol. 

$17,071,849.41 
6,470,090.88 
6,347,000.00 
2,585,835.00 
10,038,482. 00 
1, 669,659.23 
2,458,019. 60 

(*) 

(*) 

$585,000.00 
651,215. 00 
(*) 

Treasury Denartment. 

Congressional Library. 

Post-Office Department. 

State, War, and Navv Departments. 

Old Post-Office Department. 

Interior Department (Patent Office). 



* Government reservation. 


f No data available. 


Government buildings under construction in Washington. 


Building. 

Limit of cost. 

Cost of site. 

House of Representatives office building. 

$3,100,000 
2,250,000 
2, 000, 000 
3,500,000 
1,500,000 

$743.452.00 
746,111.00 
650,000.00 
(*) 

(*) 

Senate office* building. 

Municipal building, District of Columbia. 

National Museum. 

Department of Agriculture. 



* Government reservation. 






























































